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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671531">Blackened Skies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishingstars/pseuds/wishingstars'>wishingstars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Blackened Sky (Series) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Crests (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), During Timeskip (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Fluff, Multi, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), bear with me constantly changing the tags i'm an indecisive little shit, how to tag, no update schedule updates come when they come my bros, pre-canon fe3h, scheming with claude, ✨angst✨</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:48:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>39,127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishingstars/pseuds/wishingstars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Savina Galatea disappeared a year before the Tragedy of Duscur, never to be seen by her family or friends again. Believed and declared dead by Count Galatea and others, she went undercover as the soon-to-be well-known mercenary Blackened Sky. Nothing was known about the origin of the female mercenary who always got the job done quickly and efficiently, and that is just how Savina wanted it. But after witnessing the deaths at Duscur and hearing the cries of those she couldn't save, she disappeared from the Kingdom altogether. But a twist of fate brings her to Garreg Mach in 1181, and now she must face the trials and tribulations of reuniting with family and friends on top of the stresses of the school year and the Flame Emperors' plots.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Caspar von Bergliez/Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert, Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Raphael Kirsten/Ignatz Victor, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Blackened Sky (Series) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fear.</p><p>That's all Savina felt as she watched the rock in front of her shift due to her mutated crest. It paralyzed her, her green eyes wide and filling with tears of pure terror. The 15-year-old noble didn't know what to do, didn't know what she could do. She fought with her crest, trying to get it to subside. Trying to deactivate whatever was happening in front of her.</p><p>All she could hope was that nobody would come looking for her. She had just wanted to go out on a walk; she hadn't asked for a fight with her own blood. </p><p>She finally was able to get her crest to stop acting up, but fear had taken over. She couldn't lose control like that again, not with her family so close to her. </p><p>Savina shivered as she thought of all of the horrible things that she could accidentally do to her family and friends despite the late summer heat. There was only one alternative that Savina could think of.</p><p>She had to run away.</p><p>She wasn't sure how long she would run; maybe until she got control over her crest and power. Maybe forever. But she could fight, and she could hide. She'd cut her hair, she'd make a mask. She'd make or find armor. She'd take some gold from her savings; she would give everything she wouldn't need in the first few months to Ingrid. She'd leave it in her room; she knew that her sister would find it. She just hoped that they wouldn't find her before she got control of her power.</p><p>So she hid away. She sharpened her swords and even stole some from the armory, just in case. She got as much armor as she could, and she started to train outside in it despite the harsh conditions of the Verdant Rain Moon. She had to become accustomed to all sorts of temperatures and conditions, after all. </p><p>Before long, she was leaving. She cut her hair and burned the remnants in a fire deep in the forest. She gave the gold she could afford to spare to her sister and father, wanting them to have it. She grabbed her horse and her small bag of goods and bid goodbye to Galatea territory, possibly for good.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>Savina had lucked out. Finding a mercenary company just inside of Daphnel territory was the bes tthing that she could ever ask for. After they had seen her take out an entire wave of enemy bandits on her own, the group of Alliance-born mercenaries had quickly accepted her into their group.</p><p>"So, what's your name?" a black-haired man asked. He used an axe, and was rather skilled with it. </p><p>"I go by Sky," she said, deciding not to reveal her actual name. It was too soon for that; she was afraid that someone would put two and two together and identify her. </p><p>"Huh. That's a strange name, I must admit," the axe-user said, scratching the back of his head. Savina had to stifle a laugh when a blue-haired swordsman smacked the back of his head.</p><p>"Dumbass. That's not her actual name. She wants to protect her identity, which, to be honest, I respect her for," he chided. He then turned to Savina with a kind smile. "I'm Bryce, and this is Rowan."</p><p>Savina smiled a bit, nodding. "How long have you two known each other?"</p><p>"We're childhood best friends," Rowan supplied. "We were born to merchants, but our parents were wiped out a few years back. We became mercs at 17. That's when we met Helena over there, the one with the axe. Dimia, the leader, found us four years ago, two years after we formed a small band of mercs."</p><p>Savina nodded, quickly becoming acquaintanced with the others around her. Her easy smile and captivating voice attracted many of them quickly, and those who were more into fighting were quickly entranced by her style and skills. She didn't reveal her age, though it was obvious that she was still young. Even with her mask covering the upper half of her face much of the time, it was still evident in her voice and some of her actions, despite her clear maturity. </p><p>Savina sat with Terryn and Alexia, two of their healers as they taught her some faith. She had trouble grasping it in her first couple months learning with the two of them, having started just after the comet (which had practically crawled into her bag, something she figured would be useful later) landed just north of Gautier territory back in the Horsebow Moon. It now the Ethereal Moon, still 1175, and they were in . A sigh left her lips; memories of her friends and family filled her minds. They always loved the Ethereal Moon, especially Ingrid and Felix. Those two had initiated more snowball fights than she could count. She laughed quietly to herself before her attention was attracted by Dimia. </p><p>"We just got another mission," she announced. "This one's from Count Varley himself. There are a couple of weirdly allusive thieves running around the continent, and Varley wants us to track them down. Apparently one of them attacked Lady Bernadetta's friend the other day."</p><p>The group nodded, quickly finishing what they were doing and getting ready to head out of the city they were in. Savina secured her mask, making sure it wouldn't fall off; being so close to noble dwellings made her nervous when she knew that her father often made trades with various nobles around the continent. She couldn't risk being seen, not yet. She still hadn't mastered her crests power, and she had the scars to show it. She had, however, gotten enough control to be able to will it into existance without it going crazy, and the ability to supress its existance. Which was good, because she couldn't risk her crest being discovered. Not with so many people constantly around her. Though she trusted them, she still couldn't be completely sure.</p><p>She shook her head with a sigh. When you're a mercenary, any area could be come a battlefield in mere seconds. She reminded herself that she couldn't get caught up in her thoughts, couldn't get caught up in memories. </p><p>Analyze your surroundings, suppress everything else. That's the way of life she had taught herself. That's the way of life she abided by. That's the way of life she had to keep. Because she couldn't afford to do anything else.</p><p>Not when the price was her life. Not when the price was the end. She refused to pay such a high price for such a simple and unavoidable crime.</p><p>She refused to die.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>Savinas eyes widened as she heard screams and shouts of pain. She watched as the world around her became drenched in red, the area painted in blood. </p><p>She watched Rowan fall to the stab of a lance, and Bryce fall to the pierce of an arrow. She saw Isolde lose her life to the swing of a sword, and Luanda die to an axe. She watched as Dimia fell to reason, and Terryn to faith. Tears filled her eyes, though she wasn't sure if it was from pain, fear, or emotion. She gripped her sword and let out a gutteral cry. Her brows furrowed as she watched the rest of the mercenary company fall to the ground, cold, limp, and lifeless. They had paid the ultimate price to the bandits.</p><p>And the bandits would feel the agony as well.</p><p>Savina wasn't aware of the presence that surrounded her, nor was she aware of the true reason the bandits ran. She just knew the rage that she felt as she saw the leader command the group to fight her off while he raided the nearest shop. </p><p>She took down each man or woman who tried to attack her, whether from afar or up close. She collapsed before long, though there was no danger near her. She felt her adrenaline run dry, she felt her body grow weak. She collapsed, and her last waking thought was that she wouldn't be surrpised if she was assumed dead. </p><p>Wouldn't be the first time.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>Savina seemed unsure as she stepped into Lord Arundels palace. She had recieved a message from him while she was in the Alliance, having just finished a mission. She had gone with the messenger, and now that she was here, she was clearly uncomfortable. </p><p>"Ah, yes, Black Sky."</p><p>The voice startled her, and she put a hand on the grip of her sword until she identified that it was Lord Arundel. "Hello, mi'lord."</p><p>"No need to use such formalities," the lord said, a sickening smile on his lips. "We have much to discuss, and there are things that I am sure that you will question. Come with me, and we can chat for a bit."</p><p>Savina nodded hesitantly. She followed the man, putting her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail as she followed him. She kept her mask secure, as she always did. She was never sure what could come if she took it off, and she'd rather not risk it.</p><p>"I have a plan to get Lady Patricia back from the Kingdom, along with her daughter. But it will require killing King Lambert."</p><p>Savina's face remained stoic, but she was panicking internally. A shiver threatened to run through her body, but she supressed it as she looked at the other man. "I'm willing to guess that you want me to be the one to kill Lambert. What's in it for me?"</p><p>"How about 100,000 gold, a horse, and some new armor?" he said.</p><p>"It's a deal. But bring the rewards to the site so that I know you aren't bluffing," she said, resting her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the table in front of them.</p><p>Arundel laughed softly and nodded. "Serious, as the rumors always said. I like that about you. Serious, straight to the point, and efficient. The perfect mercenary. If you make it out of the tragedy Cornelia and myself are planning, I'll have to consider hiring you for real."</p><p>"I work for nobody but myself, and that will remain," she said. "I don't pledge my alligience to any one lord, territory, or country. I am a mercenary of Fodlan and that is that. Now when and where is this so-called tragedy going to take place?"</p><p>As Arundel gave her the details, she made sure to secure everything in her mind just in case a time came where she would need to know the background. She nearly scoffed when he said that they were going to blame the people of Duscur for the tragedy; it only made sense. Though they were on good terms with the territory, she knew that there was still some prejiduce against them. This plan would get the suspicions and blame off of the Imperial lord, but at the cost of so many innocent lives.</p><p>It was a good plan. Savina hated it. </p><p>But she agreed. She had a plan, after all. And she needed it to succeed. </p><p>She just hoped that it would.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. New Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The girls jade-colored eyes widened as the flames licked around the area, taking everything in it's burning wake and charring it. She tried to find the one who had employed her, the reason she was here. She needed to kill that monster before he killed the king, in whatever form he chose to appear in. She had already secured her prize, after all; she knew where it was. She just needed to kill him, get Lambert and Dimitri, and get out. She climbed atop the roof to find him, and quickly sprinted to his location upon spotting him. She jumped off the roof and flipped as she unsheathed her sword, trying to get to where she saw Lord Arundel, under the codename of Thales. How he had achieved a form such as the one he had achieved was beyond her, but it was also the last of her worries.</p><p>But he noticed her before she could reach him. He vanished. He was gone.</p><p>Black Sky cursed as she looked around, trying to see through the colorful flames to find him. Trying to see through the blood that flew around her, trying to see through the many bodies that clouded her vision just as much as the smoke.</p><p>What she saw instead made her freeze. </p><p>Glenn Frauldarius. King Lambert Blaiddyd. Mere feet from one another. But there was no way to save them both. Not enough time to move them both. </p><p>She hesitated. She hated the moment of hesitation, the moment of uncertainty that she displayed. It wasn't something that she was supposed to show, supposed to display. She cursed herself as she quickly rushed to her kings side, trying her best to save him. </p><p>But he was already dead by the time she got there. She blinked tears from her eyes before securing his death with a simple nosafatseru incantation before standing up. </p><p>She was going to claim that prize. She didn't care if Arundel, or rather, Thales, made her fight for it. She could and she would.</p><p>But to her surprise, it was all there. And Thales was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>She took her prize and ran, leaving her armor behind her. It was better if Black Sky was assumed dead, after all. She had finally gotten a grip on her power, enough to make a set of armor and a sword throughout a few days. </p><p>This was better.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>Savina sat bolt upright in her tent and panted, her green eyes wide as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. She gripped the blankets that she had in an attempt to ground herself; she'd have to get new ones at the next opportunity. The ones she had were starting to wear thin. </p><p>She slowly calmed herself, checking the light to see if she should go back to sleep or not. When she realized the sun was starting to rise, she decided that she could get an early start to her day and started to back her things into her bags. She'd have to meet up with the guy who even made her come so close to the kingdom; she couldn't risk being spotted by someone from Faerghus. It was better if the people living there believed her dead, died with the rest at the Tragedy of Duscur. Though she had drastically changed her appearance in the four years since, from her now gaunt-looking face, to her heavily altered armor and masks, to her now closely cut and guarded hair, to her new sword Shattered Moon, there was still a risk. And that wasn't a risk she was prepared to take.</p><p>A scoff escaped her lips as she pushed the dream from her mind. She didn't have time for memories like that. She didn't have time for memories, period. Memories get you killed.</p><p>Images of Glenn, who taught her the saying, gave way for images of Felix, Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid, which flashed through her mind.</p><p>Memories get you killed.</p><p>She forced herself to focus on the road in front of her, the path to payment. She didn't mind the quiet, save for the chirping of birds and the clopping of her horses hooves on the path that was slowly becoming stone. She knew she was approaching the town when the path started to even out more and become more solid.</p><p>The city she was walking through was on the outskirts of Daphnel territory, with the Kingdom, namely her families territory, just a few miles to the west. Savina understood how dangerous this was, but she took the risk; she went where the job brought her these days. She didn't have much of an option, to be fair; she fought to survive. Kill or be killed, and if you came out on top you got the money so you could survive until you found your next job. It was a hard way of life, but the 20-year-old had gotten used to it by now. 5 years of living like this had seasoned her well.</p><p>She quickly found the mayor, who had requested that she get rid of some bandits who were terrorizing the town.</p><p>"Sir, those bandits shouldn't be bothering you any longer," she said, her mask muffling her voice enough to make it unrecognizable to anyone who had spoken to her before she became Blackened Sky. That in combination with her voice maturing gave her enough confidence to be able to speak without panic.</p><p>After a quick exchange, Savina, known as "Blackened Sky", handed over the leaders lance and recieved a large bullion in return, quickly storing it away. She headed into the marketplace of the city, looking for somewhere she could repair her weapons that she trusted other people to handle, somewhere she could get food, and somewhere she could stock up on supplies. </p><p>Savina saw a green-haired male who was wearing a uniform that seemed out of place - perhaps an official from the Church of Seiros? she wasn't sure - but payed him no mind, opting to just repair her weapons. She payed a bit extra for the blacksmith to allow her to repair Shattered Moon before going to restock on supplies.</p><p>Before she had the opportunity to get any food, however, she was cornered by the green-haired male whom she had observed earlier. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stared at him.</p><p>"If you want to fight me, I wouldn't suggest doing it in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded city marketplace. And since I can't imagine another reason you would have me cornered, I'd suggest you back away," Savina said.</p><p>"That is not what I am here for, Blackened Sky," the male said, folding his hands behind his back. "I am Seteth, Archbishop Rhea's advisor."</p><p>A soft scoff escaped the lips of the masked female. "What do you want, then? If I commited a crime against the Church, I am unaware of it, and since I cannot think of another reason you would be cornering me like this, I feel it is safe to assume that's what it is."</p><p>"That is incorrect," Seteth said. "I feel it would be better to explain in private. Care to come back to the monestary with me so that Rhea and myself can explain?"</p><p>"I don't exactly have another option," she said, her eyes narrowing. "What's in it for me?"</p><p>"We have a request. You are not obligated to take us up on our request, though I have faith that you will," Seteth said. </p><p>Savinas eyes narrowed slightly but she sighed, nodding. "Alright. But please, make this quick."</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Blackened Sky, a pleasure to meet you. If you are comfortable, it would be wonderful if you would take off your masks. I promise you, even if you are someone we recognize, we will not tell anyone your identity. That is yours to tell and yours alone," Rhea said. </p><p>Savina hesitated for a moment before doing as the archbishop asked, though she kept her stoic facade. "What was it you wanted to speak with me about?"</p><p>She didn't talk about her work, or the fact that she wanted to get on the road so she could find her next mission. </p><p>"I'm sure you are aware of our Officers Academy?" Seteth asked. When Savina nodded, he continued. "We have been analyzing you for the past six months from afar. We feel that you could be valuable, should you go through some proper training as a formality."</p><p>"What's in this for me?" she asked, her eyebrows raising slightly. She had found that minor facial expressions like that tended to let her manipulate employers a little bit easier, something many mercenaries did.</p><p>"You'll be fed and you'll have a room, all for free," Seteth said. "Lend us your strength. We'll allow you to roam freely for the most part."</p><p>Savina sighed softly. "Fine. Though I assume you'll want to know what to call me and what class to put me in. I'm Savina Galatea, though I would prefer if nobody was told about my last name. Just Savina is fine. As you likely know, I don't have a crest to identify me by, so I would like my identity to remain mostly secret. That includes my identity as Blackened Sky. And I would like to be placed in the Blue Lions house, where I would be placed if circumstances were different."</p><p>Rhea and Seteth both nodded, agreeing to her terms. Savina quirked her lips a bit, a small, tight smile making its place on her face.</p><p>"Thank you for your hospitality."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Unwanted Reunions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Savina?" </p><p>Oh no. Oh fuck no. This couldn't be happening.</p><p>That voice. It was more mature than it had been, but there was no mistaking it. That was Ingrid.</p><p>That was her sister, the very girl who she had hoped to never see again.</p><p>Why did it have to be this year, of all years? Why couldn't Ingrid have come the year before, or the year after? Just any year that Savina wasn't enrolled in the Blue Lions at the Officers Academy?</p><p>The blonde-haired female turned around anyway, despite her mind screaming at her that it was a bad idea. But her stomach only dropped more as she realized that it wasn't just Ingrid she was dealing with. It was also Sylvain, Felix, and Dimitri.</p><p>Fuck.</p><p>Savina did the only thing she could think to do; she ran. It was her only escape, after all. Did it make her a coward, running? Even when the four people she hoped to never see again, the four people who she left to protect, were all in front of her?        </p><p>She remembered the terror she had felt when she discovered what she could do. She remembered the horror, the fear. The worry that she would hurt a loved one. That was when she left and didn't get in contact with people she didn't have to. Why she thought it better to be presumed dead.</p><p>But here they are, the four people who she knew would have been the most heartbroken to hear about her death. Her little sister and their friends, the three people who they were the closest to since childhood.</p><p>Savina felt bad. But when she saw Dimitri and Felix, she couldn't handle it. Maybe if it were just one of them, or maybe if they were alone. But she couldn't handle facing not only the people she abandoned, but the two people she failed.</p><p>She quickly locked herself in her dorm, her mind and hearts racing in tandem. She slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs and staring at the ceiling. Was she crying? She wasn't sure. But it was more than likely.</p><p>Why did it have to be now? She had finally secured a life for herself, a life where she was free of all titles, whether it be lord or mercenary. Here, she was just another student. For all her classmates would have known, she was a random commoner who just so happened to be accepted into the Officers Academy. But of course the timing couldn't have been different. Of course her family, her title-binding family had come.</p><p>It's not that she hated her family. She could never even begin to lie about that. She loved her family, she really did. But she hated the burden that her families status carried. She hated being known by so many people. She just wanted to live normally; what was a little bit of poverty? She had survived like that for five years and she was happy with it. She was happy with the life that she had created for herself, even if she did get a bit lonely and tired occassionally. At first she had left to protect her family. But she didn't return because she prefered the life that she lived without her family and friends binding her. Keeping her in one place. She knew that her father and brothers would never support the life that she lived, and that was part of why she never got in contact with them.</p><p>But, she thought bitterly, it looks like life had other plans for her.</p><p>For the first time in four years, she cursed people and the world for the life that she lived. Just when she thought she was in control, she was yanked away once again.</p><p>She hated this.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"We know that's her! Why does she insist on running from us? Why doesn't she talk to us? Why? Why?"</p><p>The blonde haired female was tearing herself apart. Had she done something wrong? Was that why her sister, her role model ran away five years ago? Why she seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth? </p><p>Ingrid sat in her chair, gripping at her hair as she leaned over her desk in frustration. Why was Savina ignoring her? She couldn't figure it out. Why did she avoid her so determinedly unless she had to interact with her? Did she not remember her or something?</p><p>Ingrid shook her head. There was no way Savina had forgotten about her own sister... right?</p><p>Sylvain sighed from across the room, where he was seated on Ingrid bed. "Stop tearing yourself over it. Don't overthink it. She was probably just overwhelmed to see us again. After all, we have no idea what happened to her after she disappeared five years ago, or what the cause of her disappearance was. If you're that curious, you should talk to her about it."</p><p>"Seriously, Ingrid," Felix offered from the corner he was leaning in. "Seeing you like this is unnatural. You're supposed to be the one keeping Sylvain in check, not the other way around. You've been like this since we first saw her, two weeks ago." </p><p>"He has a point," Sylvain said with a sigh. "Seeing you like this... it's like after Glenn died."</p><p>Ingrid glared at her two best friends. "Felix. Imagine after years of no contact, after he was pronounced dead, Glenn showed up randomly at a school you would only be at for a year and then ran away whenever you tried to talk to him. Put this into perspective for a minute."</p><p>"I'm just saying, my relationship with Glenn was much different than your relationship with Savina. Besides, Glenns armor was brought back to us. There's no way he isn't dead," he pointed out. "And Dimitri watched him die. We had no proof of Savina's death, as you pointed out."</p><p>"Every time she was mentioned, if I remember correctly," Sylvain added.</p><p>Ingrid glared pointedly at her two best friends, her green gaze piercing. Sylvain shrunk in on himself.</p><p>"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm sorry!"</p><p>Ingrid sighed deeply as she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes in defeat.</p><p>"Seriously, Ingrid. Just try to talk to her. Corner her in her room or some shit," Felix said. "You want answers. Get them."</p><p>Ingrid sighed deeply and shook her head. "To think a day would come where I would listen to your advice..."</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Ingrid." Savina had opened her door to see her sister. Her face was one of steely determination, and Savina knew she wasn't going to be able to get out of explaining herself to her sister. "Come in."</p><p>The younger of the two stepped into the room when Savina stepped aside and sat in the chair where Savina had gestured. She took in the room; it was simple. There was nothing but the monestary-issued supplies in the room; though Ingrid was never one to collect things, Savina always had been. She wondered what changed.</p><p>She then turned her attention to her sister. She sat slouched, and she didn't cross her legs like she always did when she still lived in Galatea. Her gaze, once soft and kind, was now sharp, cold, and emotionless. Her face remained stoic, unlike the canvas of emotions it once had been. Ingrid frowned; what had happened to her sister? </p><p>"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"</p><p>Savina already knew, but she wanted Ingrid to say it herself. The blonde had been anaylizing her sister silently; from what Savina could tell, Ingrid hadn't changed all that much since five years ago. Not in the way she held herself and acted, at least. Savina knew that her personality had probably matured even more than it already had in the five years she had been absent.</p><p>"What happened?" Ingrid asked softly.</p><p>Savina sighed. "Before I left or while I was gone?"</p><p>"Everything. I want to know it all, Savina," Ingrid said.</p><p>Savina sighed, closing her eyes. She was still getting used to being addressed by her name instead of her alias; she knew that she would likely reveal who she was eventually, but she didn't want to explain it just yet. It was too much. She feared that her sister would hate her if she told her everything now. </p><p>Though, Savina thought, it's more than likely that Ingrid already hates me.</p><p>"It's... a long story that you aren't ready to hear yet," Savina said. "All you need to know is that I left to protect you, Dimitri, Sylvain, and Felix." Some job I did.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Ingrid asked, hurt evident in her gaze and voice.</p><p>Savina sighed as she turned to look at Ingrid. "Someday, I'll tell you. But someday is not today. I'm sorry, Ingrid. But I can't risk it getting out just yet."</p><p>Ingrid stood to leave but Savina's words made her stop momentarily.</p><p>"Just know that I did everything because I love you."</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. New Allies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"A new professor, huh?"</p><p>Savina looked up from what she was writing to look at Ingrid and Sylvain. She was slowly trying to readjust to social contact beyond necessity, and had explained that she had lived in almost complete solitude to her friends and classmates, so she would need time to readjust. She was grateful that everybody had understood and some (namely Ashe and Mercedes) didn't even approach her, allowing her to approach them when she was ready and not forcing her to interact with them prematurely.</p><p>"Apparently," Sylvain said. "I haven't talked to them yet, so I'm not sure if the rumors are true."</p><p>"But Dimitri isn't one to tell lies or spread rumors," Ingrid pointed out.</p><p>"It's good that at least that much hasn't changed about him," Savina said with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. Images of 13-year-old Dimitri at Duscur flashed through her mind but she shook them away. </p><p>She had supposedly died during that fight, remember? </p><p>"He hasn't changed all that much, other than sole survivors guilt," Sylvain said with a sigh. "Sometimes he lets it consume him, but we can usually reign it back in."</p><p>Savina sighed but nodded. "Good. Letting the darkness consume him isnt' going to be good, for him or for us."  Sylvain and Ingrid nodded, both sighing. Savina glanced out her window and sighed. "We should get going before it gets dark."</p><p>"Why?" Sylvain asked. </p><p>Savina cursed under her breath. You aren't on the streets living from job to job anymore. There's no fear of getting attacked. "Sorry. I'm still trying to adjust to living like this again." Ingrid and Sylvain shared a concerned look, which Savina didn't fail to catch. She sighed a bit. "Staying out too late when you dont have somewhere to reliably stay is dangerous. Just hope that you're never put in that position."</p><p>She didn't fail to catch the worried looks that her companions gave her but she decided to ignore them, leaving her room to head to the dining hall and be alone with her thoughts.</p><p>She sat on a bench and stared at the sky, something she hadn't done in a while. It was nice; it was familiar. At first, it was her way of reminding herself that she wasn't truly alone and that her family and friends were all under the same sky. It then became habit after that, even once she completely broke away from all social contact, save for interacting with merchants and blacksmiths.</p><p>She sighed as she let her guard down, though she made sure to listen intently to her surroundings. She didn't want to be surprised; she knew it wouldn't be serious, and that she wouldn't even need to fight. But habits are hard to break, especially ones that were vital for survival less than a month ago. </p><p>She chuckled a bit to herself. Somehow, it felt like no time at all had passed, and yet it also felt like her days as a mercenary was a lifetime ago. Time was weird like that. </p><p>She slowly let herself get wrapped in her memories, both good and bad. The times she had before she left home, with her family and friends. Her expeditions as a mercenary, the various people she had met and interacted with. The mercenary group she had been with before the tragedy, the people she had saved and the people she had killed. It was strange, allowing herself to get swept up in the memories of a lifetime past. She had shut herself down whenever she tried to remember something, afraid it would cost her and theoretically cost her life. </p><p>She tensed as she heard footsteps, looking around. She saw someone who she had never seen before walking towards her.</p><p>"Mind if I sit here?"</p><p>Their voice was soft, kind. It wasn't a tone of voice Savina was familiar with anymore; usually, the tones she heard were ones of anger, sadness, demand, or feigned cheer. But it was a welcome change of pace, and Savina nodded.</p><p>The blonde analyzed the newcomer; her blue-green hair and sky blue eyes were unique, but Savina felt as if she had seen them before.</p><p>That's when it hit her. She had. Not in a very long time; five years, in fact. She hadn't seen this woman since her first year as a mercenary; it just so happened that she and Jeralt the Blade Breaker would be working together.</p><p>This was said mans child.</p><p>Savina didn't call attention to the fact, however. The woman beside her - Byleth, if she remembered correctly - had only seen her with a mask. She had no way of knowing who this woman really was. And Savina wanted to keep it that way as long as she could. </p><p>"Why are you all alone?" Savina asked.</p><p>"I'm not used to being surrounded by people all the time," the blue-eyed fighter answered, her voice never raising above something barely louder than a whisper.</p><p>Savina nodded, understanding the feeling. She stayed quiet, not wanting to break the fragile crystal of silence hanging in the air.</p><p>"What brought you to the monestary?"</p><p>Savina chuckled at the question. "A wyvern."</p><p>"I more meant figuratively."</p><p>The two laughed softly, a smile tracing Savina's lips. It was nice, being able to smile. She was glad to have the opportunity once again.</p><p>"So, why are you here?" Savina asked. "I'm sure you have a reason. I saw you coming in with Jeralt the Blade Breaker, after all."</p><p>The woman sighed a bit and nodded. "I've been asked to be a professor for one of the classes."</p><p>Savina nodded. "Thrust into it without much say?" she guessed.</p><p>"You really are good at reading people, huh."</p><p>"I've been told my ability is uncanny," she said with a sigh. "But when you have to do it in order to survive, you hone the skill," she added dryly.</p><p>"I get where you're coming from," Byleth said with a soft sigh. "Reading people has saved my life more than once."</p><p>"And being stoic enough to not be read is vital," Savina continued, recieving a nod from the other woman. The two sat in silence for a moment more. "Which class do you hope to be assigned?"</p><p>"The Blue Lions caught my eye."</p><p>Savina nodded, a small but fond smile on her face. "They're a rowdy bunch, but they're good kids."</p><p>Savina looked at the sky once again as memories of her friends flooded her mind. They truly are good kids.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"So you're our new professor? But I was treating you like a friend!"</p><p>Savina laughed softly as Annette began to fret over not treating the mysterious woman with due respect.</p><p>"I don't mind, Annette. You can treat me as a friend if you wish," Byleth said with a kind smile.</p><p>"But treating people with respect when respect is due is important..." Dimitri said, seemingly uneasy.</p><p>"We're talking to you as an acquaintance despite you being our future ruler," Savina pointed out from the back. "I think that treating a professor as a friend is the last of our worries at the moment."</p><p>Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid nodded at Savina's statement, all clearly agreeing.</p><p>"But you won't be offended if we do treat you with respect, will you, Professor?" Mercedes asked kindly.</p><p>A small smile traced Byleths lips. "Of course not. I don't mind if you treat me as a friend, though, so don't fret over it."</p><p>The class nodded, all smiling as Byleth started the lesson. Savina appreciated the fact that the woman was strict and straight to the point but open to new ideas, creativity, and everything else. </p><p>Savina dilligently took notes, making sure she got everything she needed to. She was perfectionistic with most things, and grades, she realized, were among those things. She sighed softly but kept taking notes; good grades wouldn't be a bad thing, after all.</p><p>Training arrived sooner than she had anticipated but she wasn't upset. She knew her strengths and she knew her weaknesses, so she was able to hone her strengths more than they already were. </p><p>"Felix, spar with me," Savina called, looking across the room for her purple-haired friend. "I want to see how much you've grown."</p><p>Felix quickly came over, wiping his brow of sweat before adjusting the way he gripped his sword. Savina quickly nodded to signal that he could attack.</p><p>Savina didn't hold back, knowing Felix would yell at her if she did. But before long, she had knocked his sword out of his hands, kicked his feet out from under him, and pinned him. A small smirk traced her lips as she looked at him.</p><p>"I win."</p><p>"Clearly," Felix said dryly, pushing her off. "Again. We aren't stopping until I beat you."</p><p>"Good luck with that," Savina said with a small smirk. </p><p>Felix quickly went in to stab at her, but she danced out of the way of the blade before slashing him with a soft grunt. She quickly danced out of the way of an attack, quickly delivering a counter, which Felix parried. The two of them danced around each other, Savina keeping a stoic face while analyzing Felix's every move. She quickly ducked an attack and swept his feet out from under him, a small smirk decorating her lips. She went to put a foot on his chest to signal that she had won, but he grabbed her ankle and jerked her to the ground. It's good that he has the sense to do that. Most sword fighters don't. Hell, most weapon users are rendered useless as soon as they lose their weapons. It's annoying, honestly. You have your body. Use it.</p><p>Savina quickly flipped over and pinned Felix back to the ground, her superior strength allowing for this. A grunt of defeat escaped Felix.</p><p>"Good job grabbing my ankle and sending me to the ground but you were to obvious about it," she said. "You glanced at my ankle. Look anywhere else when you do that, and try to feign innocence. Trained and well-seasoned fighters would never fall for something like that. You'd be dead meat if this were a real fight."</p><p>"You sound like you know what you're doing from experience," Felix muttered as he got up, glaring at her.</p><p>"Who says I don't? You have no idea what I did for five years. I could have been a thief in Fhirdiad. Or joined the militia of a minor lord inthe Alliance. Or been a nun in some random cathedral in the Empire. Who knows? Certainly not you," Savina pointed out.</p><p>"You could fix that," Felix said. "Also, you being a nun is the weirdest thought. Don't ever make me imagine that again."</p><p>"Mm, not yet," she said with a cheeky smirk. "That's something you can find out later. And noted. I agree, being a nun would be literal hell."</p><p>"How is it you remain so stoic in an even semi-serious situation but are the most expressive person in any other situation?" Felix muttered, annoyance clear.</p><p>"Magic."</p><p>"I don't even doubt that. Another round?"</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>The two of them got in position once again, Savina starting this time. Her attack looked like it was meant to slash, so Felix prepared to block an attack like that. However, she stabbed where he wasn't defending before jumping out of the way. Her face remained stoic, but she was smirking internally; she knew that had likely decided the winner for this match.</p><p>The two of them danced around each other as they each tried to get as many attacks in as they could, though Savina was better at finding openings. That was a skill Felix would be able to hone when he got more battle experience, Savina knew. She wasn't worried about that; she knew that Felix would be able to hone that skill quickly and easily. Though he was never much of a people person, he was always good at finding places to make a jab, whether verbally or physically. </p><p>Savina panted as she analyzed Felix, who was clearly looking for an opening to get an attack in. She left an area unguarded, hoping that Felix would take the opportunity. He surprised her, however, by feigning attacking there and attacking the opening that appeared when she went to block his attack. Felix then used that surprise to his advantage and knocked her off her feet, successfully pinning her with a smirk which Savina returned.</p><p>"Good job. Not many people can say they've done that." Not any people, really. Felix just scoffed and nodded.</p><p>"Again?"</p><p>"Again."</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Today is the mock battle between classes," Byleth announced. "I've been analyzing eveyone and I asked Manuela and Hanneman who they would be using so that I didn't deploy anyone who would make the fight completely unbalanced. That being said, I've selected Dimitri, Ashe, Annette, and Mercedes to fight alonside me."</p><p>The class nodded a bit, and Annette raised her hand. "Who are we going to be facing?"</p><p>"Ignatz, Lorenz, Claude, and Hilda from the Golden Deer and Edelgard, Dorothea, Hubert, and Ferdinand from the Black Eagles. We're both at an advantage and a disadvantage; though we have a healer," Byleth gestured to Mercedes, "that also means we're down a fighter."</p><p>"I specialize in healing but I do know some offensive spells," Mercedes said. "And I can use a bow; I'm not as good at it as I am with magic but it's still an option should there be a reason to use it."</p><p>Byleth nodded a bit. "Good. Being able to protect yourself on the battlefield is imperative."</p><p>"I'm guessing if one of us is forced to retreat that's the end of it?" Savina said. "Like we aren't going to deploy anyone else?"</p><p>Byleth nodded. "Precisely right, Savina. There aren't going to be reinforcements for anyone. All of you, be careful. Though I'm confident in your abilities, you still have to be careful."</p><p>The group of students nodded before they started heading to the field where they would be fighting. Savina helped ot make sure everyone was prepared for the battle that would soon take place, a smile tracing her lips as she saw the others. </p><p>"Y'all gotta beat 'em," Savina said, a small smirk on her lips. "Beware of Claude, attack him from close range unless you're positive that you won't get countered from far away. Edelgard is weak against magic, so Annette and Mercedes would be best to defeat her. Hubert and Dorothea are both talented mages, so be careful around them."</p><p>"You sure do know a lot about them," Ingrid said with a small frown.</p><p>"I just watched some of the sparring they would do and I was able to gather that," Savina said with a shrug. "Some of it is just common sense. Claude is an archer, so attacking from too far away is a surefire way to get shot by him."</p><p>Byleth nodded, just tuning into the conversation. "I've seen Edelgard and Claude fight. They're both powerful enemies. But just because they're powerful doesn't mean they're impossible to beat. Remember that."</p><p>The group nodded, and it was clear the fighters were nervous but excited. Savina smiled at them. </p><p>"Be careful but remember that if you have to retreat it's no big deal," Savina said. "It isn't a real battle. Nothing's really riding on this, except maybe bragging rights."</p><p>She watched as the fighters nodded, and all of them seemed to be more sure of themselves. A smile graced her lips as she nodded at all of them before sitting beside the rest of the house to watch the fight.</p><p>The 5 lions all went down to the field where the practice battle was taking place, and Savina smiled as it began.</p><p>"Dimitri, Ashe, take out Lorenz and Ignatz!" Byleth called, and the two commanded did as they were told. Savina nodded as she watched Ashe, curious to see how he acted. He was born a commoner but had been adopted into a noble family; Savina smiled to herself as she realized that their situations were almost exactly opposite.</p><p>She watched as her classmates successfully moved forward, and as her sister managed to take out multiple enemies without getting hit even once. She was glad that her sister had gotten better at dodging; before Savina left, that had been Ingrids biggest weakness. She figured Felix had gotten on her about it, knowing that she wouldn't be able to survive as a knight if she couldn't dodge. </p><p>Savina was pulled from her thoughts as she heard Claude ask something about Dimitri having a crush on Edelgard and she and Sylvain had to stifle their laughter. They had both been there when Dimitri had given Edelgard a dagger, and knew that it was about the farthest thing from the truth. If anything, Dimitri saw her as a sister.</p><p>"I can't believe Claude actually thought something like that would get to Dimitri," Sylvain said with a fond smile.</p><p>"Same," Savina said with a chuckle. "It's good to know it still doesn't ruffle him. But we can never tell Claude about the dagger incident."</p><p>"Never."</p><p>The rest of the class looked at them in confusion, but they ignored the looks they recieved and decided to continue paying attention to the battle. They had almost managed to route the Black Eagles, Manuela being the only unit left. Savina watched as Ashe managed to take her out with an arrow shot, his accuracy terrifying.</p><p>"He could have killed her if he had gone even a bit lower," Sylvain said, his eyes wide.</p><p>"That was no fluke, either," Savina said. "He's been making shots like that all day."</p><p>"That guy is terrifying."</p><p>Savina couldn't help but nod in agreement. For someone who couldn't shoot an arrow to save her life, precision like that seemed like smoething that wasn't even achievable with the help of magic or even the goddess. She'd have to ask Ashe how he did it; being able to attack from a distance with something stronger than lower-level faith was something that would be valuable. </p><p>Savina was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a hearty chuckle from Hanneman as Byleth dealt the final blow, and Jeralt announced the Blue Lions the winners.</p><p>Savina smiled, glad that she had allies she could rely on. </p><p>At least for now.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The First Mission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://i.quotev.com/3xnzeezbkpbq.jpg">
    <strong>
      <em>Savina's Crest</em>
    </strong>
  </a>
</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Bandits, huh? Unexpected but I can't say that it doesn't sound fun," Savina said as Byleth delivered their mission for the month. "And, I mean, we're going to be working with the Knights of Seiros so if we can't handle it we have plenty of backup."</p><p>"Precisely," Ingrid said with a small smile. "We just have to make sure nobody on our side dies, I suppose."</p><p>Byleth quickly dismissed them, and Savina sighed a bit. This wouldn't be her first rodeo - far from it, in fact. She sighed a bit as she ran a hand through her hair. It was hard to believe that a mere two months ago she was doing this daily. </p><p>But now she didn't just have herself to worry about. She had to make sure her classmates didn't die while trying to plow through to defeat the enemy leader. She scoffed; if it was Kostas, she hoped that she was able to take him out after chasing him around the continent for years. She always stopped at the Kingdom, but she never lost track of him completely. But now could finally be her chance to defeat him.</p><p>She sighed a bit as she sat down in front of her work. She wasn't sure why she had decided to stay there, considering the fact that a few of her classmates lingered, but she did and she suprisingly didn't regret it. Though she wasn't alone with her thoughts, the murmurs of the people around her gave her a strange sense of security. A small smile  graced her face as she realized this; she was slowly easing herself back into society. </p><p>She had a feeling the others were noticing this as well; Annette had started to ask Savina for help more often, and even Ashe had approached her once or twice. She liked him; shehad a feeling that they'd probably end up being friends if she made an effort. Which is something that she could do now that she wasn't running all over Fódlan as Blackened Sky.</p><p>This was nice. </p><p>Suddenly she jumped up and turned around, breathing a sigh of relief when she was met with a very startled Sylvain. "Sorry. Habit."</p><p>"Gotcha," a still somewhat confused Sylvain replied. "Anyway, can I talk to you? Like, in private?"</p><p>Savina frowned a bit but nodded, following the male to wherever he was bringing her. They eventually stopped by Sylvains room, as nobody else was there.</p><p>"A lot happened while you were gone and I just want to be able to clear some things up," he said. "I'm sure you're aware of what happened at the Tragedy of Duscur."</p><p>Savina bit the inside of her lower lip as memories threatened to resurface but nodded. "Everyone does."</p><p>Sylvain sighed. "Glenn was there."</p><p><em>I know. Trust me, Sylvain, I know.</em> She nodded a bit. "I'm not surprised. He was a great knight. And, don't say it. I know what it means."</p><p>Sylvain nodded a bit, the memory clearly paining him as he sighed. "I'm sure you're aware of the legendary mercenary Blackened Sky. She was supposedly killed there as well, though there is no evidence for it. She hasn't been seen in or around the kingdom since. And though there were reports of another mercenary in the Empire and Kingdom who went by the name Blackened Sky, none of them quite matched the description."</p><p>Savina nodded with a sigh. She had changed many things about her appearance when she started to avoid the Kingdom; she cut her hair, resculpted her sword, and changed the color on her armor from red to blue. She had redesigned her mask as well; changing from a simple masquerade mask to a helmet and full-faced mask. She had to be even more careful than she was before, and it took a lot out of her. But if she was being honest with herself, it probably helped her skills as a mercenary. She trained herself to remain stoic no matter what for fear of her mask being knocked off or broken.</p><p>She sighed before tuning back into what Sylvain was saying.</p><p>"You probably won't know this one, even if you were in the kingdom for all that time," Sylvain said with a sigh. "Miklan was disowned."</p><p>Savina's shock would not have been apparent if it weren't for the strangled sound that left her throat. "H-he what?"</p><p>"He was disowned three years ago," he said with a sigh. "After he stabbed me." He pulled at his collar, exposing a nasty scar that ran down his neck. "I don't remember much of what happened. Just that I was stabbed and when I woke up Ingrid and Felix had damn near killed him."</p><p>She sighed deeply, examining the wound. "Those poor nurses must have been working overtime... judging by the scar that was really damn deep. It's a miracle you're still alive."</p><p>"We've always known that the five of us are full of miracles," Sylvain said with a sigh. "As was Glenn."</p><p>Savina laughed bitterly. "You all lost a family member, huh. Ingrid lost me, Felix lost Glenn, you lost Miklan, and Dimitri lost his entire family." She sighed.</p><p>"Why did you leave, Savina?"</p><p>She looks down for a moment, unsure if she could tell him or not. But something told her that it was safe. Something told her that it was worth it, that he could be trusted until she was ready to tell the others. After all, he was the only one of the four of them who wasn't directly affected by the results of the massacre.</p><p>"The story is long. And it isn't something that anyone else can know about, okay? And I mean nobody else can hear about this; not Felix, not Ingrid, not Dimitri. <em>Nobody.</em> I'm not ready to face them with this yet."</p><p>Confusion was written all over Sylvains features but he nodded nonetheless. "You can trust me, Savina. I'd imagine you want to go somewhere more private, however."</p><p>She nodded before grabbing his wrist and dragging him into her dorm. She sighed, somewhat shaky. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell him everything, but she'd try. She'd try her best to explain everything from the very beginning.</p><p>She sat on her bed, signalling for her friend to join her. She sighed when he did, closing her eyes and readying herself to explain the story. To explain the struggles she had faced without her family or friends out of fear of hurting them. Out of fear of killing them because she lost control of her powers. The powers that she was never supposed to have.</p><p>"You want to know from the very beginning?" she asked softly. She sighed when Sylvain nodded, but told herself that she would do what he asked. He deserved it after being left alone so suddenly; she knew that she was more like a sibling to him that Miklan was, after all. "Then I'll start at the beginning.</p><p>"1175 in the Great Tree Moon is when I first discovered that I had some sort of Crest mutation. It's not the Crest of Daphnel or any other crest that I've seen. And trust me, I've seen all of the ones that have been discovered. Because once I discovered I had this mutated Crest, I did tons of research on Crestology to see what Crest I had. But I found nothing. Nothing even remotely close to the Crest I have.</p><p>"Then I discovered the powers that I had with my Crest. This was in the Verdant Rain Moon."</p><p>"The month you left," Sylvain said.</p><p>Savina nodded. "Yes. I left because I was afraid I was going to hurt one of you if I ever lost control of this power or it ever went askew. This... I think it's better if I show you what this power is."</p><p>She quickly got up and dug through her drawers. She got a sword, which was dulled. She laid it out then called upon her Crest before focusing on the dulled metal in front of her. She exhaled before completely reshaping it, turning it into a stringless bow, before reshaping it again into a lance and then back into a sword, though it was no longer dull. She turned to Sylvain, whose eyes were wide in shock and amazement.</p><p>"That crest... it's like the Crests of Daphnel, Gautier, and Maurice combined, in a way," he said.</p><p>"And yet it doesn't look like it at all," Savina finished. "Exactly."</p><p>"But what does that and the power you weild have anything to do with running away?" Sylvain asked.</p><p>"I've honed my skills in the past five years. At the time I discovered it, I could barely do anything without stabbing my hands," she said, displaying her deeply scarred palms to him. "I couldn't risk hurting you guys. By the time I had mastered it, I had already been gone for years. I was afraid to go back, to be honest."</p><p>"Which is why you would run from us whenever you could during the Great Tree Moon," Sylvain said.</p><p>"Precisely," she said with a nod and a sigh. "But... that's not the end of the story."</p><p>He seemed slightly shocked but he nodded a bit, signaling for her to go on.</p><p>"I needed to make a living somehow, and I already was good with a sword. I started fighting on the outskirts of Fódlan," she began. "You remember the comet that landed in the Horsebow Moon of 1175?" </p><p>"Of course," he said with a nod. "Ingrid was nerding out about it."</p><p>Savina laughed a bit. "Of course she was. But, back to the story. By the time it landed, a decent amount of it had already burned up. But there was still a lot left. Enough to make these."</p><p>Savina stood up. What she was doing would likely reveal everything to Sylvain, but she was willing to run the risk. He had sworn secrecy and she trusted him. And he knew what often resulted in not staying true to his word. </p><p>She went over to a corner and brought out a chest that held her black armor and sword. She took said sword in her hands and reshaped it into the design Sylvain would have known of. It looked more like a traditional sword this way, instead of the curved shape that she had quickly come accustomed to. Though she wasn't worried; fighting with the traditional sword was embedded into her muscle memory, as she had seen in the past few months.</p><p>She then laid out the armor that she knew would be recognizable to the man after a few small but extremely noticeable alterations. She then stood and looked at the wide-eyed male.</p><p>His eyes met hers and she saw the pure shock in his features. "So you're..."</p><p>"Blackened Sky," she confirmed, nodding. </p><p>"So basically you led us to believe that you died twice," he said, raising an eyebrow. </p><p>"At the time I thought it was better for Dimitri if he thought me dead," she said. "Because he watched me try to save Lambert and Glenn. He watched me try and fail because I hesitated for a moment, unsure which to save. If I could turn back time, I would have saved Lambert. Seeing the kingdom in turmoil... it pains me. And it would be less painful than knowing that I could have saved one of them but they both died.</p><p>"If you hate me, I don't blame you," she continued. "I did some horrible things - I've killed people, some innocent, some guilty, some old, some young. My hands are stained red from countless lives. Our king and one of our best friends among them. Because while I didn't deal the final blow, I wasn't able to heal the wounds left by the blades."</p><p>"Savina," Sylvain said, his voice soft and kind. "I don't hate you. You did what you felt you had to do. And their deaths were not your fault; you can't heal everyone. And I doubt that they would hate you for your moment of hesitation; it just shows that you're human. Your remorse shows that you're human."</p><p>"But am I really human, Sylvain?" she asked. "I've taken so many lives without a second thought. And sure, they haunt me. Sure, there are days where the trauma renders me practically useless, unable to get out of bed because of the guilt weighing down on me. But are we sure that I'm human? That I'm not just some monster in a humans skin?"</p><p>Savina didn't realize she was trembling until Sylvains larger hands took hers, the steady warmth helping her to calm down. "The fact that you're haunted proves that you're human. You're not just some mindless murder machine, Savina. You've done this all to survive; for a mercenary, there is no choice but to kill. Savina... you're no monster. Whether you think you are because you abandoned your family, or because you've killed, or any other reason, just know that it's wrong. You aren't a monster. You're Savina Cecilia Galatea, and the closest thing to a sister I've had. You've done what you had to do in order to survive. And being here now is enough."</p><p>The blonde nodded, taking a shaky breath in. "Thank you, Sylvain."</p><p>"Of course, Savina. And... thank you, for trusting me with this information."</p><p>"Who else would I trust?"</p><p>"Fair enough. But... I do have one more question," he said, his smiling face turning serious once again. "Why were you even at the tragedy?"</p><p>Her face turned bitter and her eyes filled with regret, remorse leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She sighed deeply as she began to explain. "As you know, I was an extremely popular mercenary. So, the organizer of the tragedy reached out to me. I... I was hired to kill King Lambert. I didn't plan to, of course; I planned to kill the monster who employed me. But he disappeared before I could and that's when I realized that I had failed at protecting our king. I... I regret that day more than anything else."</p><p>Sylvain seemed shocked for a moment before nodding, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "I should have assumed that you'd be there for such a noble cause. Going against your employer because you wanted to protect your king, even though it would likely sacrifice pay. It sounds just like you, and yet... it somehow feels like it isn't you telling the story at all. You've changed, that much is certain. But the Savina I once knew is still there." <em>I just hope it will remain.</em></p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"The knights cornered the bandits," Dimitri reported to the class, his hair slightly windblown from running to deliver the news. "We must head out at once."</p><p>The class all quickly stood, Savina and Felix cracking their knuckles as they went to get their weapons. She sighed softly, ready to finally take Kostas head-on. She had been waiting for this moment since she started tracking him.</p><p>It was just a shame that he wouldn't know it was Blackened Sky who took his final breath.</p><p>Hell, she reminded herself, there was no guarantee that it would be her. She hoped it would be her but there was no way to ensure it. At least he'd finally be out of her mind. Out of sight, out of mind, out of time.</p><p>She chuckled bitterly as she sheathed her sword. Oh, how she wished that things had turned out different. If they had, maybe, just maybe, she'd have been able to avoid Kostas all together. But there was no turning back time. There was no taking back the things she had said and done, whether she liked it or not.</p><p>A soft sigh left her lips before she closed her eyes, opening them quickly and heading back out to her class. She adjusted her armor with a soft grunt; none of the monestary-issued armor fit her as well as her Blackened Sky armor had, but she figured there was nothing she could do about it. After all, she'd have to give back her current armor once she passed her next certification class. She could risk manipulating the metal like that, not when so many people would be touching it after her.</p><p>She pushed it from her mind with a soft sigh. The battlefield was no place for thoughts like that. Thinking about anything except your enemy and your next move on the battlefield is what gets you killed.</p><p>It's what tears you away fro the ones you love so much, the ones you hold so dear to your heart. It's how you're ripped away from them, right before their eyes.</p><p>Memories of Glenn, Lambert, and her mercenary company who was wiped out right before her eyes in a massacre in the Alliance in her first year as a mercenary by the very group of thieves she was about to face flooded her mind. Savina pinched herself to bring herself back to the present.</p><p><em>Remniscing will do you no good, </em>she reminded herself. She shook her head before rejoining her class, who quickly departed at her arrival. </p><p>"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said to Byleth as they walked. "I realized my blade was getting dull."</p><p>"Don't worry about it," Byleth responded, a small but kind smile gracing her lips. "I'd rather you take a few extra minutes to get ready than have your blade break while on the battlefield, rendering you useless and defensless."</p><p>Savina nodded in agreement. "I know some faith, but not as much as I wish I did," she said. "And I have my fists. But other than that, I'd be useless. And I'd really rather not be put in that situation."</p><p>Byleth nodded, and the two women walked in peaceful silence. Savina liked Byleth; being around the calm, cool, collected woman gave Savina a sense of comfort. She enjoyed the fact that her professor didn't find it necessary to fill in the silence with sensless chatter. She preferred the quiet; always had, always will. As fighting tended to be loud, noise without reason was something she resented. She needed that break, needed to be in a relaxed headspace. Needless noise put her on edge.</p><p>She shook her head, a sigh leaving her lips. She needed to stop distracting herself; she'd end up getting killed at this rate. She ran a hand through the strands of hair that didn't make it into her wrap-around braid, a sigh leaving her lips. She inspected the area around her; they were nearing Zanado. Savina had never dared set foot here; nobody did, unless given special permission by the Church. Though it disgusted Savina that these theives thought it was okay to run there, it didn't surprise her. Not in the slightest. </p><p>The group of students soon arrived at the base of the canyon, where Savina quickly spotted Kostas. Her mind quickly came into focus, tunnelling in on the people in her way from getting to her goal. She'd kill anyone who wasn't on her side; she knew that much. She quickly scanned her allies; she needed to remind herself that she was working with a group, not solo. She needed to remember that she couldn't just lash out at anyone who stood in her way. Not anymore. </p><p>Before Byleth had even finished giving out directions, the thieves started to attack the group. Savina, quick and silent as ever, ran to protect the people around her. She quickly knocked an axe out of an enemies hands with her sword, stabbing him in the chest and watching as he fell to the ground. She heard a gasp of horror from Annette, but the sight of blood and death had stopped phasing her a long time ago. She quickly wiped some of the blood off her weapon before scanning the area. </p><p>"Dimitri's idea to come from the west and the south will probably work the best. A double-sided attack is the best way to go with this group; don't ask why or how I know that, just trust me."</p><p>The group nodded, though she caught a glimmer of confusion and curiosity in Felix and Ingrid's eyes. She turned away, not wanting to deal with them. That was for a later date.</p><p>Hopefully, a much later date. </p><p>She closed her eyes and exhaled before gripping her sword. She then glanced at Byleth and gave a quick nod. They charged into the canyon.</p><p>Savina focused on one thief at a time. The familiarity of the situation was comforting, in a way; she had been thrust into a completely different world when she agreed to Seteth and Rhea's terms. It was comforting to know that at least one piece of her life hadn't changed at all. </p><p>She knew it was probably sick, to think of murder as a form of comfort. But she pushed that thought from her mind as she saw an arrow heading straight towards Ashe. </p><p>It was sailing straight towards his head.</p><p>Without even a moment of hesitation, Savina leaped and took the blow, the arrow piercing her shoulder. A loud grunt escaped her lips, but she quickly broke everything but the imbedded piece of the arrow off and threw it to the ground. It was better to leave it like this, at least until Mercedes could tend to her. </p><p>"D-did you just take that shot for me?"</p><p>Ashe seemed to be in shock, and Savina sighed softly. "Yeah. It was sailing right for your head." <em>I wouldn't be able to handle it if another ally died because I hesitated.</em></p><p>"B-but you're a noble! And I'm just a commoner!" Ashe said, his shock clear.</p><p>"First of all, on the battlefield, there are no such things as divides like that," Savina said, gripping her sword once again. "Second of all, I'm barely a noble. I disappeared for five years, ripped myself of my name and my title. Don't stress yourself out over it."</p><p>Savina then left before hearing the silver-haired males response. She didn't have time for idle chatter, after all. Idle chatter could get you killed.</p><p>Savina sighed as she inspected the area. There was no enemy in their immediate area, so she quickly but carefully began to lead Ashe to where they planned to attack from the west. She glanced back and nodded as she noticed that Annette, Dedue, and Felix had joined them, and she turned her attention back to the task at hand. She inspected the area, trying to locate enemy archers and mages first. She spotted a few, and directed Ashe where to aim. </p><p>As soon as Ashe's arrows flew, she quickly led the others along the route. She quickly fought off a few of the thieves, grunting as she quickly dodged a stab that surely would have killed her. She quickly retaliated with a slash, slitting the other mans throat. A gutteral groan left the mans lips as he fell to the ground, gasping for air as the life was quickly sucked out of him. She stepped over him, looking around for any other enemies that could attack them quickly.</p><p>Her eyes widened as she saw Annette trying to take a vulnerary, a swordsman quickly sneaking up behind her. Savina sprinted over, trying to parry the blow that would surely kill her ally.</p><p>However, the blow never came. She opened her eyes, which she had closed to block the attack, to see Felix's sword embedded in the thiefs back. </p><p>"Nice aim," Savina complimented as she realized that Felix had thrown the sword.</p><p>"Thanks. Could be better though," he said.</p><p>"Striving for perfection is good, but it'll never actually come, y'know," she said, sheathing her sword.</p><p>"I'd rather be as good as I can be," he said with a shrug. "Now c'mon. Kostas only a few hundred feet away."</p><p>Savina nodded, checking to make sure none of her companions had dropped dead. She handed Ashe a vulnerary, seeing him struggling with a wound in his shoulder. He thanked her and she nodded. </p><p>"Alright. Ashe, let your wound heal, and then we'll move forward. Do you think you can send a couple arrows at him to distract him as I sneak over?" Savina said.</p><p>"Yeah," Ashe said with a nod. "I should be able to. I'll have to climb that tree over there, though."</p><p>Savina nodded. "Alright, that's our plan for now then. Dedue, Annette, and Felix, I want you to surround Kostas but keep a wide berth. I'm going to rush him; it's time he finally paid for the things he's done. If I go down, which is unfortunately likely, I want you guys to take him down. He isn't getting away with his life today."</p><p>The others nodded, though Felix looked somewhat bored. She paid him no mind, however; she was more worried about finally taking down the man who had caused her so much pain.</p><p>Ashe nodded before beginning to climb the tree, and the others started to run towards Kostas. Ashe sent a group of arrows at Kostas, one of them piercing his collarbone, and another piercing his forearm. Savina silently cursed Ashe's deadly accuracy; she just hoped that she'd never have to be on the recieving end of one of his arrows. </p><p>She pushed that out of her mind, however, and quickly ran towards Kostas. She knew he saw her coming, but she didn't particularly care.</p><p>She quickly kicked Kosta's legs from under him, attempting to pin him down with a grunt. He rolled on top of her, however, reaching for his axe to deal the final blow. <em>Like hell am I going to let him do that.</em></p><p>Savina grunted before flipping them over once again, pulling at the arrow piercing his collarbone and stabbed his other forearm. </p><p>"Do you remember the Scarlet Rose mercenary company? The one that you and your men massacred in Derdriu in the Ethereal Moon of 1175?" she growled into his ear, and his eyes widened. "You killed all but one of them. I'm that one. Say goodbye to your life of thievery, <em>Kostas.</em>"</p><p>She quickly drove her sword into his heart, hearing his pained scream which was cut short as his body went stiff and cold. She quickly stood up and pulled her sword out of his chest, scoffing as she wiped his blood on his clothes. She then straightened up and nodded at Byleth, who nodded in response.</p><p>"The missions over. We should head back to the monestary once we recover the stolen goods," Savina called to her class, who all nodded and began to look for bags of gold and other stolen goods. </p><p>"Your technique was so cool!" Annette said, her eyes wide and a smile on her face. "You weren't afraid to use things other than your main weapon, it's so unique and so awesome!"</p><p>Savina chuckled a bit at the females enthusiasm, her smile staying on her lips. "Ah, yeah. I had to learn to not just rely on my sword in the five years I was living on the streets. There were times I was ambushed and couldn't reach my sword, and there were times that my sword broke and I would lose my life if I didn't find some way to fight back. That's how I learned faith as well; I needed a way to fight back when I couldn't access my sword."</p><p>Annette nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. But you're a noble, aren't you? Why were you living on the streets?" </p><p>She chuckled a bit, though there was a hint of bitterness to it. "That's a long story, unfortunately. Let's just say that I left when I was 15 and basically stripped myself of my name and title for a life that I could forge on my own."</p><p>Annette nodded a bit, her smile gone and replaced with a small frown. "I can't imagine being put in a situation like that... I was able to forge my own path, but I didn't really need to run away or strip myself of my title, as you said, to do it. I was able to just ask, and I recieved the education I wanted."</p><p>Savina nodded a bit. "Sometimes that works. Other times, it doesn't. It all depends on your situation and your dream. I didn't really want to come here, but Seteth himself recruited me, so I couldn't exactly say no."</p><p>Annette nodded a bit. "You must have been a really good fighter to catch Seteths eye. But what were you-"</p><p>"Savina, you're hurt."</p><p>Savina and Annette were pulled from their conversation by Ashe, who seemed worried. "Look, your arm. There's a pretty nasty gash there. I think it might be poisoned."</p><p>Savina seemed slightly surprised. "Really? I didn't even notice." But the silver-haired male was right; there was a giant gash along her left arm, and it did seem to have some sort of substance besides blood leaking out of it. "It must be some sort of numbing poison... I'll get it checked out by Manuela once we get back to the monestary. Thanks for pointing it out, Ashe," she said with a smile. <em>So maybe working with a group isn't all that bad, huh... I could have died if Ashe didn't point it out to me. </em></p><p>Savina smiled to herself as the group headed back to the monestary. Yeah, coming here was probably the best thing she could have done for herself. More so than leaving Galatea territory, or becoming a mercenary, or leaving the Kingdom for what she thought was forever. It was better than deciding to learn faith, or deciding to learn to fight with her fists and not just her sword in order to defend herself.</p><p>This decision changed her life more than she thought was possible. This decision gave her a new purpose. </p><p>And she would be forever grateful.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 5: Misted Paths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Savina frowned when she realized how downcast Byleth looked as she came to tell the class their mission for the month. She knew that it wouldn't be good, just from the way Byleth's lips were turned down in a frown.</p><p>"What is it?" Mercedes asked gently, being kind as ever.</p><p>"The mission this month... Lord Lonato is attacking the Church, and it's our job to take him down," Byleth said.</p><p>Anger quickly swirled within Savina. "How could they assign that mission to <em>us</em>? Could they not have chosen one of the other two houses? It's not like they have his god damn son among their ranks!"</p><p>Ashe was clearly distraught, but he put a hand on Savina's shoulder. "Savina, it's fine. It's... it's what I have to do. I'll be alright, I'll just stay towards the back."</p><p>"No, it isn't alright. I agree with Savina in this case," Dimitri said, concern clear on his features. "It's not fair that they're making you take down your father, adoptive or biological. It's not fair to you, no matter what way you look at it."</p><p>"I don't exactly have a choice," he said. "I just... I just hope my siblings don't get caught in the fighting."</p><p>"Is there a risk of that?" Annette asked, somewhat surprised.</p><p>"There is, unfortunately. They're still fairly young, but they are capable fighters. I made sure of that before I left; our territory isn't rich or powerful, and we don't have many alliances among the territories that surround us. I wanted to make sure that no harm would come to them. But I'm afraid that might have done more harm than good..."</p><p>"How similar to you do they look?" Savina asked. "If we know what they look like we'll be able to avoid them, even if they are on the battlefield. </p><p>"My sister looks a lot like me, though she has blue eyes. Her hair is shoulder length. She focuses in reason," Ashe said. "My brother doesn't look much like me, though we have the same eye color. He uses axe and he always wears a necklace that our father gave him when we were younger. It has a bronze chain."</p><p>The group nodded, and a few sighs could be heard.</p><p>"I'll take care of them," Felix said. "I'm skilled enough to be able to get them out and fight them without hurting them too bad if they fight back. It's the safest decision."</p><p>"Are you going to need assistance? You're good, but you don't have the experience I have," Savina said. "I also know some faith, so I'll be able to heal them if necessary."</p><p>"Good call," Byleth said. "I'll task you two to that; if you don't spot them, just attack like everyone else. If you see them, get them safe and away."</p><p>"My brother won't go away without a fight. Tell him that I'm in the group and that he needs to go if he tries to get out of your grasp," Ashe advised. "He's difficult but he has a good heart. He doesn't remember our biological parents all that well, since he was so young when they died, so he would do anything for Lonato."</p><p>The group of them nodded before dispersing, and Ashe ran off quickly. Savina hesitated for a moment before deciding that she'd leave him be for now; she'd let him have a while to come to terms of what this mission entailed. She wasn't entirely sure on his backstory, but she was sure that he was technically the heir to Gaspard territory due to his older brother being excecuted by the Church after the Tragedy of Duscur. </p><p>How wrongly accused his brother had been. If anyone had deserved to die for that incident, it was her. But she didn't think that would be a comfort for Ashe, not right now. She sighed a bit, running her hair through her hair. She had cut it again, though she had decided to only trim it; no point in keeping it too short when everyone knew she was alive, after all. </p><p>She sighed a bit, letting her anger simmer for a moment. She didn't understand why there had to be bloodshed; she knew why Lonato would hate the church. But she wasn't sure why it would take him four years to attack back for his sons death. </p><p>Christophe. She had only met the guy once; he had given her a mission just after Kostas killed her mercenary company. But he was kind, and she knew for a fact that he wasn't involved in the Tragedy of Duscur. She would have seen him, if nothing else. </p><p>"So, a Kingdom noble is attacking the Church."</p><p>Savina turned around, drawing her sword. She then sighed, sheathing the weapon when she realized who it was. "Claude von Reigan."</p><p>"Savina Galatea. No need to draw your sword on me," he said, clearly a bit shook by her impulsive actions.</p><p>"Habit. Sorry about that," she said. She then sighed. "So you've heard about our mission."</p><p>"I have," he said.</p><p>"And I have a feeling that you think that it doesn't quite add up," she said.</p><p>Claude nodded with a slight chuckle. "I'm glad we're on the same page. Why would Lonato wait 4 years to attack the Church?"</p><p>"There has to be someone micromanaging from behind the scenes," Savina said.</p><p>"But who could it be?" Claude asked. "I doubt it's a group of Kingdom lords; only a few noble families were affected, including Fraldarius, Gaspard, and Blaiddyd. The only remaining Blaiddyd is Dimitri, and he's here."</p><p>"He also wasn't affected by the Church, nor was Rodr- er, Lord Fraldarius," Savina said with a sigh. "So who could it be?"</p><p>"I'm not sure," Claude said. "It just doesn't add up."</p><p>"I agree," Savina said with a sigh. "Also, you have a strange amount of knowledge about the Tragedy of Duscur and the Kingdom nobles for someone who wasn't even recognized as a legitimate heir to House Reigan until last year."</p><p>"I had to make up for 16 years of knowledge," he said with a shrug. "And I was in the Alliance for a while before then; I heard all about the Tragedy from merchants and mercenaries alike."</p><p>"It was pretty damn big, wasn't it," she muttered bitterly. "But back to the problem at hand, Lonato is obviously being manipulated by someone. We need to figure out who it is before we're forced to kill him."</p><p>"But will we be able to?" Claude asked. "I doubt Rhea or Seteth will allow us to go talk to him, and even Teach wouldn't let us if she was afraid that something would come to us."</p><p>"Yeah, but it's not like we don't know how to fight," she pointed out. "I've seen you on the battlefield; those aren't the moves or the commands of someone lacking in battle experience. And it's not like I lived in the lap of luxury for the past 5 years."</p><p>Claude raised his eyebrow at her statement. "Really? I thought you were the daughter of Count Galatea?"</p><p>"Oh, I am," she said. "But I'm the daughter that supposedly died five years ago. I'm not sure how public that was made beyond the Kingdom, however."</p><p>"Supposedly died, huh?" he said, somewhat taken aback. "Did you run away?" </p><p>"Ah, so you're not a complete and total dumbass," she said. "Yes, I ran away."</p><p>"What did you do?" he asked.</p><p>"Tell me one of your secrets. It's not fair that I'm the only one exposing myself here," Savina said. </p><p>"No can do," he said with a light chuckle. "Unfortunately, I told my parents that I wouldn't share my secrets with anyone. I'm not gonna break that promise just yet. But come back to me; I'll share my past with you when I deem the time right."</p><p>Savina chuckled a bit. "For someone who seems to be so mischeivous and scheming, you really are just a goody two-shoes, aren't you?"</p><p>"You wound me, but alas, you're right," Claude said.</p><p>Savina simply rolled her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips. "So, are we gonna work together to try to find out who's manipulating Lonato? Or are you more focused on your mission?" </p><p>"I'm a great multitasker," he said. "It just sucks that I can't assist with your mission beyond that. Stupid head of house rules."</p><p>With a soft laugh from Savina and a smirk from Claude, an easy alliance formed between the two, a bond of mutual trust quickly forming. But an air of suspicion remained, and it likely would remain for longer than either of them would necessarily prefer.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Ashe, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Savina asked her companion quietly. "It's not too late to turn back; we'll all understand. He is your father, after all."</p><p>Though Savina and Claude had spent the previous month pouring over observations, books, and theories, the only plausible culprit they had decided on would be the Western Church. Unfortunately, because they had no concrete evidence, they were unable to prove their theory right or bring it to Rhea and Seteth to try and call off the mission. </p><p>"I'm sure, Savina," he said. But he didn't look okay; he was paler that usual, and he had a clear frown on his lips. "I have to do this. It's... it's my duty. I just don't know why Lonato would do this..."</p><p>"We tried our best to figure it out, but Claude and I only came up with one feasible answer," Savina said. "And I doubt you're going to like what we came up with." </p><p>"Don't tell me yet, then," he said with a sigh. "Wait until later, please. I don't know if I can handle it right now."</p><p>"Of course, Ashe," she said with a kind and sympathetic nod. A sigh escaped her lips before she continued. "I know it won't be much comfort to you now, but just know that I have an idea of what it's like to have to do this. I'm always here if you need to talk to me, and I'm willing to open up to you if you want me to."</p><p>Ashe nodded. "Thank you. And I will."</p><p>The two of them continued on in silence, not wanting to say anything more. The tension was thick in the air as they continued on to the battlefield, Savina feeling all too familiar pangs of apprehension and pre-battle guilt. She didn't want Ashe to be forced to watch this, to be forced into this. She didn't want him to be forced into fighting the man who had likely saved his life. </p><p>She hated the way the world worked. It was so cruel to the kindest people. It targeted the ones who didn't deserve the pain that the world brought them. It hardened them until they became cold, maybe even heartless. It hurt them until their hearts turned to stone. Their hearts, once soft and sweet, turned hard and unshakable, unbreakable. </p><p>She hated the world.</p><p>But she shook all of that from her mind as she realized that they were almost at the battlefield. She sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to get into a state of mind that wouldn't get her killed on the battlefield. She couldn't afford that, after all. Not now. Not yet. Not so soon after finding all these wonderful people. </p><p>Savina refused to die. Did that make her heartless? Maybe on the battlefield, it did. After all, it's kill or be killed in battle; if you can't bring yourself to kill, you'll be dead before you know it. Dead before you can register the pain. She had witnessed it too many times; she had seen people who thought they were ready to face the horrors die right before her eyes because they had no idea what it was like to kill another human being. She had seen too many lives go to waste because of a stupid assumption that it was easy.</p><p>She sighed as she looked onto the battlefield. There were civilians here; there were people who didn't understand the horrors of war. Why were the students assigned such a gruesome task, she wondered. Why were the students being forced to push their humanity aside for a moment to kill people that they could know? She heard Ashe suck in a pained breath, and she wished she could offer some form of support. But on the battlefield, there wasn't much she could do. She wished she could spare the militia in front of her, but she knew that she couldn't. She knew that Rhea wanted them dead.</p><p>She had never liked the woman. </p><p>Savina sighed as she unsheathed her sword, gripping it as she prepared for the command to charge into battle. It was clear to her that Byleth was struggling as well; it was clear that she shared the thoughts of Savina. It was clear to her that she was hesitant to give the command. </p><p>But who wouldn't be? Who wouldn't be hesitant sending their student into a battle against their own family when they couldn't do anything about it? </p><p>But when Byleth gave the signal, Savina pushed that from her mind. She pressed ahead, ignoring the sounds of fighting from around her. She ignored the yells of Catherine as she deftly swung Thunderbrand; she had never liked the woman, but she disliked her even more now that she realized that she was part of the reason Ashe had been roped into this mess. She sighed as she pushed those thoughts away; she could assign blame as much as she liked later. The battlefield was no place for idle thoughts like that. </p><p>She quickly spun around and deflected an axe that would have pierced her spine if it weren't for Sylvains yell to her. She quickly closed her eyes as she disposed of her attacker, not wanting to stare into the eyes of the man she was killing. Even after five years, it never got easier. </p><p>Losing humanity for a second never got easier.</p><p>She sighed as she wiped her sword clean of blood, looking around to make sure she wasn't in any immediate danger and that none of her allies were in trouble. She continued to press ahead when she acknowledged that everyone she could see was safe, though she couldn't see much due to the thick fog surrounding them. She swore that it just got deeper the further they pressed on; she wouldn't be surprised if this particular fog had been caused by magic. </p><p>She sighed as she swung her sword in front of her in an attempt to clear some of the fog. A sigh died in her throat as she realized that she had encountered a mage, however. She had to be careful; she was fairly certain that Ashe had said that his sister was a mage. She'd make sure to "accidentally" knock the mask off to make sure it wasn't his sister before moving on. If she had to hurt the mage to do it, she would. She was willing to take the risk; so long as the opposing unit didn't die until she unmasked them, everything would be okay.</p><p>She pressed forward and quickly proceeded to attack the mage, being extremely careful. She slashed their shoulder before spinning, getting her sword rather close to the mask of the mage. She flung the mask off, and sighed in relief when the mage underneath didn't match Ashe's description in any way, shape, or form. She pushed kicked the mage's legs out from under them, pinning them down before deftly killing them. She got up and ran, trying to escape the pained screams that she knew would just join the ranks haunting her in her dreams.</p><p>She bit her lip as the fog cleared, revealing just how close she was to Lord Lonato. She heard a soft cry from Ashe; she wasn't sure if it was from an attacker or from the sight of his adoptive father. She knew how painful this must be for him; having to watch as his adoptive father was killed. She sighed as she ran up to the man, wanting to get this done as quickly as possible. </p><p>She sprinted up to the man, closing her eyes and opening them again as she got close. She heard him yelling about Catherine, but didn't pay any attention to it as she snuck up behind the other man. </p><p>"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."</p><p>She pierced the back of the lords skull with her sword. She heard the pained scream, and she tried not to let tears fill or escape from her eyes. She hated it when she had to do something like this, killing someone in front of a family member. Especially when they had a good relationship; it's traumatizing, she knew. She didn't like doing it to people; she hated it. She hated how cruel the world had to be to put someone in that position. </p><p>She opened her eyes and she saw Ashe. He was clearly trying to be strong, but who could be strong after watching something like that? Nobody would have blamed him if he started to cry. Nobody would have teased him. It was his father, after all. His father, whos murder he was forced to watch.</p><p>Was it for a second time? Was he forced to watch his biological fathers death too? The thought filled Savina's mind before she could rid herself of it, and it hurt her more than she realized a mere thought could. She dropped her sword. She wanted to comfort Ashe, but she doubted he wanted to talk to her in that moment. She had killed Lonato, after all. She had killed the man who had given Ashe hope. Given Ashe life. </p><p>She ran. She didn't know what else to do as the voices in her head reached their peak, their symphony of screams reaching an acme. She bit her lip as she ran into the forest blindly. </p><p>Why were the screams so loud all of a sudden? Why were they so bad now? They had been a mere ache in the back of her mind since she had arrived at the Academy; why did the noise increase so abruptly?</p><p>Why was her mind so cruel?</p><p>She collapsed somewhere in the forest, and she assumed that she was far enough away that nobody would be able to find her. She didn't hear them, at least. Or maybe she was panicking, and the caucophony in her mind was blocking out all other sound. She didn't know, she couldn't know. </p><p>She hated this.</p><p>She gripped her hair as she murmured and begged for it to stop, just wanting the voices to shut up. She wanted the screams of rage, of pain to stop. She needed them to fade, she needed the pain to recede. She couldn't handle the screams, the agony.</p><p>But then again, this was her punishment, was it not? The price she had to pay for ripping these people of their lives. The price she had to pay for ending stories, possibly prematurely. The price was so high, she thought. The price was so high for just trying to survive.</p><p>Why was the cost of living so unbearably painful?</p><p>She didn't hear the footsteps of someone coming. She didn't even acknowledge the presence of the other person until their hand was on their shoulder, and she could faintly hear her name.</p><p>The voices in her head started to fade, the shrieks of agony starting to abate. She slowly looked up, her form still trembling, her face and hair a mess. But she was surprised when she saw Ashe sitting beside her.</p><p>"Why are you here?" she asked quietly. "I just killed him; why aren't you mad at me? Why don't you hate me?"</p><p>"I knew it was going to be one of you," he answered. "As soon as I saw you kill the mage, I knew it would likely be you. I had come to terms with the fact that he was going to be killed by one of us as soon as we got the mission. I don't blame you for what you did. And... I need you to tell me what you and Claude came up with."</p><p>Savina nodded a bit, taking a deep, shaky breath. "Yes, yes, of course. We don't have any concrete evidence, but the only plausible solution we could come up with was that it was the Western Church's fault. We think that they may have manipulated him into doing this so that they wouldn't be ratted out. They probably want to rebel against the Central Church's power, and they were using Lonatos hatred towards the Central Church and manipulating him. Bending him to their will."</p><p>Ashe's anger was clear on his face. It was clear as day, right next to the agony that filled his gaze. Savina wished that she could do something to help the boy beside her, but she knew that there was nothing she could do. </p><p>"Then that's why that note was there," Ashe said.</p><p>"What note?" Savina asked.</p><p>"Lonato was carrying assassination plans for Lady Rhea," Ashe explained. "I didn't think it was likely that he would ever attempt something like that. And now that you've explained that..."</p><p>"We'll need to tell the others," Savina said with a sigh. "But first, lets get back."</p><p>"Yeah..." Ashe said with a sigh. "Good plan."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Holy Reunions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"And that's what we know for now."</p><p>Savina sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, looking over the scattered pieces of parchment covering the library table that she, Ashe, and Claude were sitting at. She glanced up at the two males, who were both frowning at the lack of information that they had.</p><p>"Do you guys know your mission for this month? If it has anything to do with protecting Lady Rhea, the raised security around her could lead to a potential slip-up with information," Claude said with a soft sigh.</p><p>"Technically speaking, we do," Ashe said. The grief from the loss of his adoptive father was obvious; the dark bags under his eyes and the slightly red-rimmed look his eyelids had were dead giveaways. And his eyes, which had been so lively, like a forest in the spring, had dulled significantly, now resembling something more like seaweed through a muddy pond. Savina knew that the memories with his adoptive father would likely be indelible, and she hated that she was powerless to do anything about it.</p><p>"As of now, our mission is to just assist with the security during the Rite of Rebirth," Savina supplied as she pulled herself from her slight stupor, "especially around Lady Rhea and the Goddess Tower. But most of us doubt that Lady Rhea is the actual target."</p><p>"Such an openly available note with plans on the Archbishops assassination <em>is </em>rather suspicious," Claude agreed with a curt nod. "But what do you think the actual target is?"</p><p>"We aren't positive and we have conferred with anyone else, but our best guess is the Holy Mausoleum," Ashe reported. "It makes the most sense, between the timing and the information we currently have."</p><p>Claude nodded a bit, glancing around at the scattered pieces of parchment that were laid out on the table in front of them. "That does add up. It will be open on the last day of the Rite, and if it is the Western Church orchestrating these deeds, then it would make even more sense."</p><p>"Precisely," Savina confirmed. "It's likely that they're going after the Heroes Relic that is located in the Mausoleum as a power move and using the assassation plot as a distraction. Not that it's impossible that they will try to kill Rhea; in fact, I'd be more surprised if they didn't actually end up at least attempting to go through with the murder."</p><p>"Hang on - <em>relic</em>? I thought all of those had been returned to the families of the 10 Elites..." Claude said, confusion evident. Ashe nodded, giving a curious glance to Savina.</p><p>"All the relics of the 10 Elites were given to the families, sure," Savina said with a slight smirk. "But remember - Nemesis had a relic too."</p><p>"You mean to tell me that Nemesis's relic is in the Holy Mausoleum?" Claude said.</p><p>"Yep!"</p><p>"Fódlan is weird as fuck."</p><p>This earned a chuckle from Ashe and an exhausted nod from Savina. But Ashe quickly turned to Savina, his gaze questioning and his head slightly tilted in curiosity.</p><p>"Wait - how did you know that there's a Heroe Relic in the Holy Mausoleum?" he inquired.</p><p>"I have my ways," Savina answered with a shrug. She trusted these two, but not enough to reveal everything just yet. She knew that it likely wouldn't end well for her. "It doesn't really matter, I just know that someone needs to be there to guard if we're going to apprehend the people sent to steal the relic."</p><p>"We'll have to get permission to guard the mausoleum directly, but I doubt we'll get it," Ashe said with a sigh. "What should we do?"</p><p>"I have a plan, but I'd say we only have a 76% chance of succeeding."</p><p>"That's oddly specific," Claude taunted playfully.</p><p>"Shut up," Savina retorted, giving him a playful nudge. "Anyways, we'd need to be able to get at least one of us stationed in the Cathedral to work. Unfortunately, with my skill, I'll probably be sent either to the entrance or the Goddess Tower until the Blue Lions check on the Holy Mausoleum as a whole. This means that it almost definitely falls to you two."</p><p>"Getting you stationed at the Goddess Tower would be best, but unlikely," Claude said. "From what I can tell, only seasoned knights and a few mercenaries are even going to be allowed near there."</p><p>Savina sighed a bit, glancing at her two companions. She wasn't sure if she trusted them with the information of her alias and other identity yet, but she trusted them enough to reveal her old occupation.</p><p>"I'm a former merc," Savina said. "A pretty famous one, actually."</p><p>She hadn't meant to say it, if she was being honest. The words had slipped from her lips before she had the time to stop them. But her frantic train of panicked thoughts was interrupted by the silver-haired angel beside her.</p><p>"Really? I don't recognize the name Savina as a merc, so what was your alias?" Ashe asked, eyes widened with surprise.</p><p>Did she tell them, or no? Did she trust these two men enough, or should she wait? She knew she trusted Ashe - she would trust him with anything. Claude was the real problem; he was too secretive for her liking. But the clear curiousity in both of their gazes made her sigh, preparing to relent.</p><p>"Blackened Sky."</p><p>Savina watched as the curiousity on the archers faces quickly made way to shock. Savina had to muffle a chuckle; they were both extremely easy to read. It was almost embarassing, if she was being honest. But, then again, they didn't have to be hard to read; they fought from a distance. They still put their lives on the line, but not to the same degree that close-ranged weapon users did. </p><p>Ashe spluttered for a moment before finally getting comprehendable words out. "But she died back in Duscur!"</p><p>"And Savina Galatea died a year before," Savina said dryly. "Faking your own death isn't difficult, especially when there's a massacre to hide behind."</p><p>
  <em>Faking your death isn't the hard part. That part is downright easy. Cutting off everyone you know is the hard part.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cutting off your loved ones is the hard part. </em>
</p><p>"I already knew that you were absolutely terrifying but this just confirms it," Claude says, eyes wide.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Savina asked.</p><p>"I met Blackened Sky. It was three or four years ago, but I met her. And you hid the fact that you're such a fearsome fighter and well-known mercenary from <em>everyone. </em>That includes me, someone who has not only met Blackened Sky, but also is supposedly scarily good at recognizing disguises and alternate identities with minimal clues," Claude said. </p><p>Ashe turned to Savina, eyes no longer wide, but serious. "You were at the Tragedy of Duscur and survived. So why did you disappear from the Kingdom all together? If His Highness knew that he wasn't the only survivor, maybe things would be different..."</p><p>"I left because I couldn't face what I had done. Or, rather, what I had failed to do," Savina said with a sigh and a downcast glance. "I can't explain it to you yet. I'm not ready, you're not ready, it just doesn't work out. And, honestly, I'm not sure if I trust you enough just yet. No hard feelings; I don't even know if I trust my sister and old best friends enough yet. My past as a mercenary isn't pretty. It's long, bloody, and filled with tragedy. I'll explain it to you eventually, I promise. But not yet. Not today."</p><p>
  <em>Then when?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When will you admit to your failure? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>When you will admit to your moment of hesitance, the moment of hesitance that killed your king? That sent your country into chaos?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When will you admit to causing Dimitri pain?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When will you admit to the one display of human compassion that caused you to seal away memory and emotion for what you thought was forever?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When will you admit to your bloodstained mistakes?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If not now, then when?</em>
</p><p>Savina shook her head slightly, recovering her focus on the two archers in front of her. Claude seemed deep in thought, but Ashe was looking at her, worry in his eyes.</p><p>"Why don't you get some rest, Savina? It's clear your tired, and you've got a lot of plans here. I'll take care of cleanup; I can either take all the notes and plans to my room for the time being or drop them off in yours," Ashe said.</p><p>Savina nodded, standing up. "Yeah, I think I'll do that. And you can keep them for now; thank you." She then turned and headed out of the library, her footsteps quieter and quicker than necessary.</p><p>Thoughts were filling her mind, as much as she didn't want them to. She tried to push them away, but it was getting harder the more she did. There was no escape from the memories, the voices in her head telling her that it wasn't worth it. </p><p>The voices in her head telling her to shut everyone out again. The warning signals in her head. She was getting too close to people; she was terrified that someone was going to die because of it. </p><p>
  <em>Just like the others.</em>
</p><p>She tried to push the thought away as she stumbled into her dorm room, but it lingered like a wisp of smoke from a fire recently put out. She sighed as she sat on her bed, lighting a candle and staring at the wall blankly.</p><p>Images of her mercenary company flooded her mind - the bright smile of Rowan, the smooth voice of Bryce, the kind advice of Terryn, the snide comments from Alexia. She was filled with pain as she remembered Dimia and Luanda, two people she could have saved if she hadn't hesitated in her decision.</p><p>
  <em>Another hesitation. Another set of deaths.</em>
</p><p>She didn't want to fight beside people anymore. She wanted to fight alone; no allies by her side, no battallion to guide. No friends to fear for.</p><p>It was easier that way, simpler.</p><p>It may not always be the best, that much is certain. But for her, it was. She wouldn't have to worry about being put through that choice again - chosing which one to save and which one should die. That's why she hated getting close to people now. She hated letting her guard down, hated opening up.</p><p>Hated showing emotion.</p><p>All because she had been hurt because of the ones she loved, one too many times.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Savina, can I speak to you for a moment?"</p><p>The blonde turned to Byleth, a question in her gaze as she balked at the door, turning around. "Yeah, what's up?"</p><p>Byleth motioned for her to come towards her desk, and Savina did as she was instructed. </p><p>"Your mission this month will differ slightly from the rest of the classes," Byleth said with a soft sigh. "Lady Rhea herself said that she wanted you guarding the Goddess Tower from the outside. The knights tasked with defending it will be on the inside in case you fall. We all agree that it is unlikely that you will fall, but we want to be cautious. We'll send Ashe to get you when we check on the Holy Mausoleum, since he will be patrolling the Cathedral."</p><p>Savina's eyes widened slightly, shock filling her thoughts as she realized what this meant. Their plan fell into place better than anyone had expected, after all, and this was practically unheard of with Savina's luck. The goddess was smiling upon her that day, that was for sure.</p><p>"What about the others? I just want a general sense of what's going to happen," Savina asked.</p><p>"Leonie will be with Ashe, but on the side further from the Goddess Tower. I recruited her for mission assistance this month, which is why I was able to assign her where I did. Lorenz and Petra are guarding the entrance; not the people I would have picked, but not my choice since they aren't in our class yet. If I were to choose, I'd probably put Lysithea and Linhardt there."</p><p>Savina nodded. "That makes sense based off their capabilities, but if you were to assign them both to the cathedral I would switch Leonie and Linhardt. Having too many mages in one place can be bad, as it can occassionally offset magic."</p><p>Byleth nodded a bit, a small smile on her lips. "Yeah, that makes sense."</p><p>Savina smiled a bit, and they continued their conversation. She was glad to hear that Felix had been put with Annette to guard the front entrance; the two of them balanced each other out, whether it be in combat or personality. She had to muffle a laugh when she was told that Ingrid and Sylvain were going to be patrolling the entrance hall; the two of them always got up to something, whether it be for better or for worse. </p><p>Overall, Savina thought the matchups were well thought-out. She didn't agree with a few choices made by other professors, but she didn't comment on them as she knew that they couldn't be changed by Byleth. Her professors expression made it clear that she didn't agree with some of them, either; that was all she needed to know, in all honesty. </p><p>"Are you aware of why I was chosen to guard the Goddes Tower?" she asked before she left the room to find someone to spar with. "I just feel that it would make more sense to assign a seasoned knight to that position, like Jeralt or Alois."</p><p>"I thought so too," Byleth said with a slight sigh. "Until Rhea explained the details of your assignment to me, that is. She wants you to use your special sword, whatever that means. It seems to be a test of sorts, though I'm not sure why she decided now was the best time."</p><p>Savina chuckled, but there was a bitter edge to it. She always knew that the archbishop had an interesting way of doing things, after all; it didn't really come as a surprise to her that she'd choose a time where her life was absolutely on the line to test someone.</p><p>Savina bid her farewells to her teacher, who smiled and nodded as she left. The blonde then went to the training grounds, hoping to find someone to spar with. </p><p>"Savina! Come spar with me!"</p><p>She glanced around, trying to identify where Leonie was. She could tell that it was the ginger from the voice; her voice was very memorable, after all. She turned and spotted her, quickly meeting her with a grin.</p><p>"I'm down. Let's head to the training grounds; will you be using lance or bow?"</p><p>"I'll use lance for now," Leonie said with a shrug. "Maybe if I can beat you I'll switch to bow, but I haven't mastered close shots yet."</p><p>"Gotcha. I never got the hang of archery," Savina admitted. "The only long-ranged attacks I have are a few faith spells and one reason spell."</p><p>"You can hold your own in a fight really well, though," Leonie pointed out. "If ranged weapons aren't your thing, don't use them. It's best to find a weapon that you can use reliably, after all!"</p><p>"That's a rather optimistic way to look at it," Savina murmured, glancing at the other female. "I've always just seen it as a necessity to chose a weapon that I can fully control, without much room for error. That's why I chose a sword; I could already use it reliably due to my upbringing, and it was the most comfortable of all the weapons I did try."</p><p>"Everyone has their own motivations and ways of seeing the world," Leonie said with a smile. "Learning to embrace those differences is one of the most difficult but most important parts of life."</p><p>Those words hit Savina hard. She always had an uncanny ability to read people and identify differences, but she had never really thought about overcoming and embracing them. In the past five years, she had lived mostly in isolation, after all; she didn't need those skills.</p><p>But Leonie was right; she needed them now, and it was crucial for her to understand that. She may not have realized it without Leonie, but she felt that thanking her would be out of place. So how did she express her gratitude?</p><p>She glanced around the training grounds, beginning to change. She supposed the other female would always appreciate a good fight; that was something she could give her, easy. </p><p>So that's what she did.</p><p>For the next few hours, the two of them danced around each other, their blades clasing as they tried to attack and defend. Savina won almost every time, but that's what they both expected. Savina knew that Leonie hadn't sought her out because she wanted to win, not yet anyway. Leonie sought her out because she wanted to learn, and Savina was more than happy to teach her through experience.</p><p>"You're incredible," Leonie panted, eyes wide as she wiped her brow. "The only other person to ever beat me this many times was Captain Jeralt."</p><p>"I wouldn't say I'm on the level as him," Savina joked, waving the ginger off. "He's probably leagues better than me. I don't think anyone could really be considered better than him."</p><p>"Maybe not, but there was a mercenary who threatened his title as the most fearsome," Leonie said offhand, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand after taking a sip of her water. "I think her alias was Darkened Sky? No, wait, it was Blackened Sky. She disappeared before the decision was finalized, though."</p><p>She kept her face stoic as normal, but inside Savina was in awe. She couldn't believe that she was considered on the same level as the former captain of the Knights of Seiros, Jeralt the Blade Breaker. But she pushed those thoughts out of the way; she could talk to Byleth and maybe even Jeralt himself about what they thought about the noble-turned-mercenary. </p><p>"One more match?" Leonie asked, standing up and grabbing her lance.</p><p>"Alright," Savina said with a shrug, picking up her sword. She didn't love the weight of it, but she supposed it made sense; they didn't want anyone to get hurt too badly during training. She still sighed as she held it, wishing there was a way to make it heavier.</p><p>"Ready, set, go!"</p><p>Leonie rushed Savina, who quickly parried the attack before kicking Leonies legs from under her. The latter rolled, however, quickly righting herself and attacking again. </p><p>Savina had to admit that there was something mesmerizing about sparring with Leonie. It was clear that the female was learning from every strike, block, and counter that either of them made. Savina was interested to see what it was like to watch the ginger fight without worrying about hurting an ally and classmate; she knew that it was likely hypnotising. </p><p>Savina shook herself out of her thoughts, quickly blocking an attack Leonie made. Savina noticed that the ginger was slightly off-balance, so she quickly kicked her feet out from under her and pinned her tothe ground, a smirk adorning her lips. </p><p>"I win."</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>Savina paced cautiously and anxiously, her sword sheathed by her side. She knew that her secret was safe with Ashe, and that he wouldn't comment on the sword beyond maybe a bit of nerding out (which she found honestly endearing). But it didn't make her any less anxious; in that moment, she longed for her masks, longed for the comfort they brought her. They were her safety blanket of sorts; with them, she didn't need to worry about getting recognized by someone she didn't want recognizing her. </p><p>She decided to busy herself with the coloring on the sword, messing with it slightly as she waited for something - anything - to happen. She settled with a crimson that was not dissimilar from the shade she used at first. She doubted anyone would really recognize it, since Shattered Moon only made its debut a month or two before the Tragedy of Duscur, and she had changed the color immediately after the massacre. So she knew she didn't have reason to fear.</p><p>Having a reason was never something she worried about, though. Anxiety wasn't nice to her, after all. But, then again, not much <em>was.</em></p><p>She sighed, running a gloved hand through her hair and analyzing the various ways that an enemy could get up onto the bridge to the Goddess Tower. She knew that she was probably overthinking a bit (no human being would climb the probably 40-mile high beams to get to the bridge, after all), but it was better safe than sorry. She had always been a bit of an overthinker, after all.</p><p>Who is she kidding; she's way more than a <em>bit</em> of an overthinker. If she was paid every time she overthought something, she'd be rich by now. Damn anxiety.</p><p>She sighed as she glanced at the sky, gauging what time it was based off the suns location with a soft sigh. She just wanted this day to be over, preferrably without much fighting. Or any. That would be ideal. </p><p>Did that mean she was going to let people go free? Hell no. But it did mean that she was too tired to put up with the Western Church's shit and would gladly reveal her alternate identity to the entire god damn continent if it meant shutting those stupid western bastards up. </p><p>She sighed, running a hand through her hair with a bitter taste in her mouth. She groaned softly as memories of the brief time she had spent working with those uncooperative assholes, wanting nothing more to stab one of them and tear them to bits.</p><p>She <em>really </em>needed to work on her people skills. </p><p>She sighed a bit as she resumed pacing outside of the tower, which was clearly beginning to age. Though, she suspected that it was just as old as the rest of the monestary, but build of wood as opposed to stone. She wasn't sure why that was, but she supposed it didn't really matter.</p><p>She glanced at the sky once more, knowing that her time here was maybe halfway done. She let out an exhausted exhale and leaned against the wall, finding herself perfectly content to to glare at the shadows following the sun as she "vigilantly kept watch". In truth, she was paying just enough attention to know that there were people who weren't usually there in the Cathedral and that there were plenty of knights inside the Goddess Tower. Which, she supposed, was more than the average person. Savina was, however, far from being average, as she had quickly come to learn.</p><p>She fiddled with her sword idly as time slowly ticked by, resenting how boring everything had been. She would have preferred to be stationed at the front entrance, in all honesty; at least then she'd be able to see people coming in, instead of waiting with bated breath to see if there were any potential attackers. But, she figured this was precisely why Rhea had put her here; she wanted to gauge her adaptability to new and unfamiliar situations. That was Savina's guess, anyway.</p><p>At this point she was fairly certain she hated everyone but the Eastern Church, who had the least influence. Made sense; they were the only ones who hadn't gone absolutely mad with the power they exercised. </p><p>Savina sighed deeply as she glanced at the sky, watching clouds slowly drift by as she let herself float in and out of her memories. A smile, small and nostalgic, graced her lips as she remembered the better times - the times before she discovered her crest. Before her life was flipped upside-down.</p><p>She shook her head. None of that; she couldn't afford to be in a sad mood on the battlefield. A <em>bad </em>mood was fine; anger could occassionally prove useful. But sad was unnacceptable on the battlefield; it allowed for too many variables that she couldn't afford to gamble.</p><p>Seeing a head of slightly unkempt silver hair had never been so freeing or relieving in her entire mess of a life. This meant that she either finally got some action, or she didn't have to worry anymore and could go off-duty. Either way, it was more refreshing than she could convey.</p><p>"The Professor wants us to meet up," he said, fiddling nervously with his sleeve. "I think we're starting the attack - well, I guess it would be a counterattack if we do end up fighting - on the Holy Mausoleum."</p><p>"Nervous?" she asked light-heartedly. She knew that pre-battle nerves were normal for the first few years of fighting, but you got used to it after a while. She knew that Ashe would eventually adapt; helping to get over his grief would help as well, that's for sure. But she also knew that it was a process, and that he would bounce back when he was ready. </p><p>"A bit. I know that Lonato had connections to the Western Church... if your and Claude's theory is true, it will be nice to know that I'm at least helping to make up for the loss of his life. But if we're long, and I strip people of their lives for a reason that isn't really my own, people that I could know, I don't know if I'll be able to handle it," Ashe said with a sigh.</p><p>"If we were wrong, which is a damn big if between the two of us having different sets of evidence that all align, you'll still be helping keep the Central Church and Garreg Mach safe. I know it doesn't mkae it any better; trust me, I know. But, while killing doesn't get easier, dealing with it does," she told him, hoping to soothe him slightly. She wasn't sure if it worked, but it was better than nothing.</p><p>She hoped, at least. </p><p>"Thank you, Savina," Ashe said witha shaky exhale. "I'm glad to know that it will get better."</p><p>A small smile painted Savina's lips as she nodded. "Any time, Ashe."</p><p>He nodded a bit before leading her down the path to the Cathedral, going to meet up with the rest of their class. Savina sighed a bit, stretching her arms as she walked and making sure her sword wouldn't give much away.</p><p>"So, just out of curiousity, is that your Blackened Sky sword?" Ashe asked quietly as they walked, making sure to ask and satisfy his curiosity while being conscious of Savina's decision to keep quiet about her alternate identity. </p><p>Savina smiled a bit with a nod, patting the curved sword at her hip with a smile. "Yep! This is Shattered Moon, the one and only. Though, don't tell anyone else, except maybe Sylvain. Since he knows."</p><p>Ashe nodded in a kind understanding. "Of course. Why is it curved like that? Wouldn't it hinder movement?"</p><p>"Not really," Savina said with a shrug. "I'm not really sure why I decided to make it curved, but it allows for a cleaner kill. I guess that's really why; clean kills are faster and easier to pull off. I'm not a fan of torture and stuff; I'd always prefer just getting the damn job overwith as opposed ot torture people before I put them out of their misery."</p><p>And here Savina was, opening up to a mere acquiantance. She <em>really</em> needed to get better at her people skills because it was clear she was severely lacking in proper casual ettiquite. Or really any social ettiquite. </p><p>She really should have thought out the future before she cut off 90% of human contact for 4 years.</p><p>"That's cool," Ashe said with a small smile, nodding a bit as he continued to look at the strange sword. It was clear that he had more questions he wanted to ask, but he stayed silent as they approached the group, which Savina was thankful for.</p><p>Byleth nodded at them, sighing a bit. "Good, you're here. That should be everyone; we'll go into the Mausoleum in a few minutes. I just need to double check everyones weaponry, make sure everyone has weapons they can rely on. Savina, I'm assuming you'll be using the specified sword and that it's prepared?"</p><p>Savina nodded, patting the scabbard at her hip. "Yep! I'm set and ready to go; if you want, I can head in."</p><p>"Not yet, I want you to take Ashe, Sylvain, Annette, Leonie, and Felix with you," she said.</p><p>"Ah, I get the gi-"</p><p>"Don't you dare finish that sentence."</p><p>Savina stuck her tongue out at Sylvain, who had cut her off. "Shut up and accept the fact that you're a ginger."</p><p>"You are," Felix and Ingrid harmonized, matching smirks adorning their lips. </p><p>"You too?" he whined, though laughter danced in his eyes as he playfully elbowed Felix. </p><p>Savina giggled a bit before sighing. "Alright, guys, calm down. I was poking fun; we need to focus on the task at hand now."</p><p>The others nodded before settling in to wait for Byleth to allow them to head into the Mausoleum, settling into a grim silence. Savina noticed Ashe fiddling with the loose threads of his sleeves -  a nervous habit she had picked up from him, so it seemed - as he glanced around the secluded part of the Cathedral. </p><p>"Alright, lets go."</p><p>The words had never relieved Savina more. Well, maybe relieved wasn't quite the right word; she wouldn't be truly relieved until she was able to truly relax, not worry about the battles that would eventually have to be fought. </p><p>Long story short, she had a feeling she wasn't relaxing in this lifetime.</p><p>Looks of determination, grim and steely, overtook the faces of the students gathered around the Mausoleum. They entered through the doors and decended the stairs, and Savina exhaled angrily when she saw the state the room was in. </p><p>There were mages all around the room, as well as a few sword-fighters and other various weapon users scattered throughout the fairly large room. But that wasn't what caught Savina's attention; they would be easy enough to deal with. </p><p>It was the male at the center of the room that really worried her.</p><p>"Professor," Savina called, waving the blue-haired woman over. "Can I talk to you real quick?"</p><p>"What is it?" Byleth asked, keeping her voice low.</p><p>"Don't let the other students fight the man in the middle, the mounted one. He's incredibly powerful and dangerous; you and I should distract him. We don't have a hope of defeating him right now, unfortunately, but if we can distract him enough for the others to get up to the man at the coffin. How high is your resistance against magic and your dodging abilities?"</p><p>The two females discussed a few other vital details before breaking apart, Savina heading to her group and Byleth to hers. The blonde glanced at the blue-haired sword-fighter, who nodded. </p><p>"Lets go. Do not follow me; Felix, lead the others up the side column until you get to the top and fight the mage at the coffin. Don't worry about me and the Professor; we've got this handled."</p><p>Ingrid gave her sister an uneasy glance. "I don't like the sound of that..."</p><p>"The guy in the center is dangerous. We're just going to distract him, okay? We won't get too badly hurt," she said. "There's no guarantee that I won't get hurt at all, but, oh well. This is the reality of war."</p><p>"You speak as if you've fought this guy before," Sylvain said, a question lacing his voice. </p><p>"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. You have no idea what I did after I left." She knew that technically, Sylvain <em>did</em> know. But the others didn't, and the question was just as obvious on all of their faces as it was on his. </p><p>Ashe still looked unsure, and Felix still looked slightly apprehensive of the idea, but the people she was going to lead nodded simultaneously. They knew that this was serious, after all, and they knew that she was right; this was the reality of what they were doing. They were putting their lives on the line; if they died, that was that. That was life, after all; no matter what, you always die at the end. It's a guarantee, a constant. Nobody has lived for more than a hundred or so years; warriors often die sooner. So in reality, they knew that Savina was more than likely to die by the end of the year.</p><p>Savina was fine with that.</p><p>"Just stay safe," Annette said. "We don't want one of our classmates dying on us so early, after all!"</p><p>"I just got you back. If you die, I <em>will </em>kill you," Ingrid said, the threat hanging in the air before a bit of laughter escaped Savina.</p><p>"Got it. Don't worry, Ing. I'll retreat if I need to," Savina assured her sister.</p><p>And with that, Byleth signalled for everyone to get going, and the two strongest females were rushing towards the center. </p><p>Towards the Death Knight.</p><p>Savina sighed deeply, unsheathing her sword in one motion, smooth and well-practiced as she rushed towards an archer. She dodged arrows, quickly and skillfully beheading the archer before wiping the blood off her sword. </p><p>She glanced to her side, smiling a bit as she saw Ingrid and Sylvain teaming up on a mage while Annette and Felix plowed through the enemies side by side, clearly trusting each other enough to let the other guard their lives. Ashe took aim and took kills from farther away, while Leonie mostly cleaned up messy strikes with her bow. The blonde smiled a bit before returning to her job, instead of watching as her best friends and sister fought beautifully.</p><p>It was harder to tear her eyes from Leonie than she had anticipated.</p><p>She shook her head slightly, returning her eyes and mind to the task at hand. She quickly parried an attack from an axe user, stabbing them skillfully with the sword. Her practiced movements flowed back to her with ease, her arms pleased with the use of their memories. Savina balked for a moment; was that a weird thought to have? Probably.</p><p>Whatever.</p><p>She sighed a bit. There was only another healer and a few feet between her and the Death Knight. She was not looking forward to the reunion between them, especially when that ran the risk of being recognized by the male. Their only previous encounter had involved the Death Knight almost decapitating her and Savina almost cutting off one of his legs. </p><p>She had no doubt that he had gotten better at the same rate that she had, if not even faster.</p><p>She sighed a bit, quickly defeating the healer in front of her. She glanced across the middle column of the room at Byleth, who nodded at her.</p><p>The two of them rushed the Death Knight from two sides, knowing that he couldn't follow both of them and the others at the same time. Savina glanced at her friends, smiling when she saw Ashe, Leonie, and Felix breaking into dead runs and trusting the other three to defeat the remaining enemies as they rushed to the man in the center.</p><p>Savina ran up to the Death Knight, holding her blade up. "Byleth, go with the others! I can take this from here. Go!"</p><p>Byleths hesitation was clear, but it was also evident that she trusted Savina to know her limits. The blue haired female jumped across the various pillars and other architectural designs that Savina did not have the time or energy to truly appreciate, quickly racing to the mage who was working on the Goddess's casket.</p><p>"You're too late! The seal will be broken any minute now!"</p><p>Savina spared a glance at the people who had gathered by the casket, sighing as she saw the mage clad in white trying to defend himself against countless soldiers. She cartwheeled out of the way of the Death Knights scythe, ignoring his eerie silence. She knew that the man was one of few words from her previous encounter and stories of other encounters with the feared knight of death. </p><p>She smiled as she saw Ashe fire an arrow, watching the iron tip glint in the torchlight before piercing the mages side. She knew that it would do considerable damage based off of where it hit; she was confident that the mage would be dead by the end of this battle.</p><p>Even if he wasn't, he sure as hell would be once Rhea got through with him. </p><p>"It's no use! The seal is already broken. You can't - huh? A sword?" </p><p>As the words rang around the room, all sounds of battle stopped. Even the Death Knight and Savina stopped their dance on the line between life and death, knowing that both of them would walk away with their lives today. The two of them turned their attention to the battle that is taking place before them. </p><p>The mage grabbed the sword, turning around in time to see Byleth charging at him. He tried to block the females attack, but it send the sword flying into the blue-haired womans hand. The glow of a fireball is emitted from the males hand as he prepares and releases the attack, but his attempts are futile. Byleth simply slices through the magic with the admittedly strange-looking sword. </p><p>It was glowing red. </p><p>"Holy fuck..." Savina whispered.</p><p>"Huh... what?"</p><p>Byleth throws away her sword of steel, slicing through more of the attacks from the Western Church soldier. He backed up after a moment, deciding to go on the defensive. He puts up a shield after hitting stairs, backing into the cold, steep stone. Byleth rushes forward and attacks with the sword, however, and breaks the shield of the mage, quickly killing him with the frightening new power she held in her hand. </p><p>Savina had never seen anything quite like it; the beauty didn't resemble anything she knew. It was strange, seeing a relic like that; she had seen most of the others, after all. She knew that Ingrid would be getting her families once their father deemed it fit; she was the only one with a compatible crest. Savina didn't mind; she didn't like lances anyways, and she had her own relic-like sword by her side.</p><p>But this relic was different. The most noteable difference was the lack of a crest stone; how did it work if the crest stone wasn't still in the sword? It shouldn't work, she knew that much; unless something absolutely crazy or terrifying happened, it absolutely should not work. But, well, Savina supposed that her professor was full of crazy surprises. What's one more, am I right?</p><p>But the design of the sword is what really caught Savina's eye. It looked almost detatchable, like it was made of linking and unlinking chains. It was like it could be used as a ranged weapon, in a way; it was like the professor could use it both up close and from a decent number of feet away. That would definitely come in handy.</p><p>It also helped that the relic was clearly able to easily slice through magic, or at least fire. She knew that was important; not many swords were able to withstand magic, especially not dark or black magic. So that was noteable, in it of itself.</p><p>Savina knew that she wanted to analyze that sword, that much was certain.</p><p>She heard footsteps and glanced behind her, a slight groan escaping her lips; Catherine. The blonde ran into the room with two others, clearly expecting a fight. </p><p>Savina was having none of it. </p><p>She deftly ducked under the Death Knights last attack before he disappeared, saying something along the lines of "I must go"; she wasn't really paying attention. She just walked over to the group of people who she had been instructed to command.</p><p>"Do any of you need immediate healing before we can get you to Manuela?"</p><p>Sylvain and Ashe shook their heads, but Ingrid quickly went to Savina. "It's Annete. She needs healing now and Mercedes is out."</p><p>Savina quickly rushed to the red-headed mage, who was clearly in pain. There was blood dribbling down her chin and staining her clothes; she had clearly been stabbed in an expert place.</p><p>Savina pushed a slightly panicking Felix out of the way as she began to mutter the incantations for heal, allowing the faith to course through her veins and stabalize Annettes wound. It wasn't as good as Manuela's or Mercedes by any means, but it would do until she could get real help and a vulnerary.</p><p>Before she could speak up, Ashe was already handing her a vial of the healing potion. She gently tipped it into Annettes mouth, helping to coax the healing liquid down her throat.</p><p>Annettes state started to stabalize quickly after that, and Savina stood with a soft sigh.</p><p>She'd done well.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this took so long; school's a bitch. But hey, take this 20 page monstrosity of a chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Darkened Relations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Where are you guys taking me, exactly?" Savina asked, raising an eyebrow at the two males who were leading her... somewhere. She wasn't sure where, and if she was being honest, she wasn't sure if it was somewhere she wanted to be. That thought was further encouraged when the two archers in front of her shared a smirk.</p><p>"Well, we noticed that you only know faith as far as ranged attacks go, and we decided that just wouldn't do," Claude said with a slight smirk, tipping his head back to look at the blonde girl behind him.</p><p>"And, y'know, as you befriended the two best archers at the Officers Academy, we decided that we'd take it upon ourselves to teach you at least a little bit of archery," Ashe said, clearly trying (and failing) to keep the laughter out of his voice.</p><p>Savina shook her head, sending a piercing glare to both boys in front of her. "Sorry, but no. I suck at archery, and I honestly have no motivation to get better at it."</p><p>"Sucks to be you, then," Claude said with a smirk.</p><p>"Pick on Felix instead," Savina countered.</p><p>"I would, but he terrifies me, so that was automatically a no," Ashe said with a shrug. "Besides, even if I <em>did</em> decide to pick on Felix, that doesn't mean I wouldn't have you learn bow with me too."</p><p>Savina sighed deeply.</p><p>"C'mon, I just wanna see how horrible you are at it," Claude said with a shit-eating grin.</p><p>"The sword on my belt may be decorative but I can still hurt you with it. Don't forget it, 'your highness'," Savina said mockingly.</p><p>"Hey, no, none of that," Claude said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not really one for fancy titles like that."</p><p>"Oh, would you prefer "my liege"? Or perhaps "your excellency"?" Savina teased.</p><p>"Oh, or "your honor"?" Ashe continued, joining the fun with a smirk.</p><p>Claude simply shook his head and sighed before thrusting a bow into Savina's hands.</p><p>"I already told you, I'm not learning bow," Savina said, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>"Yes, you are," Ashe said with a devious grin.</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>"C'mon, just shoot an arrow and we'll see how much work you'll need to put in," Claude said, a smirk resting casually on his face.</p><p>Savina sent a pointed glare at her friend as she nocked an arrow, taking aim at the target across the room. She let out a breath before releasing the arrow, sighing as she hit the outermost ring on the target. "Told ya."</p><p>"I've seen way worse," Ashe said with a smile. "You should have seen my brother. He got arrows stuck in the ceiling when I got him to attempt it."</p><p>Savina snorted softly. "The only reason I'm not that bad is because all members of House Galatea are required to at least start learning bow before they're allowed on a pegasus. Not that I really wanted to ever ride a pegasus, since I'm trash with a lance, but it was still pretty much a requirement since Galatea is known to have the best falcon knights."</p><p>"You're trash with a lance, huh? What <em>are </em>you good at?" Claude said. Savina couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but elbowed him anyway.</p><p>"I'm good at most other things, other than heavy armor. But lets be real here, there are like 2 types of people who are good at heavy armor," Savina said with a sigh. "I'm best with sword, axe, and faith though. I'm pretty okay at reason and riding but I don't use them much." The two archers nodded a bit, seeming to follow what she was saying as she rolled her shoulder a bit. "Damn, I haven't shot something since Elaña made me back in '75."</p><p>"Wow, that long?" Claude said. "And who's Elaña?"</p><p>"Yes, that long," Savina said, a glare being shot his way. "And Elaña was the best archer in our mercenary company. Not like I knew her very long, but the memories are still there."</p><p>"Why didn't you know her long? Did you leave the company?" Ashe inquired.</p><p>"You could say that," Savina stated. "Remember Kostas?"</p><p>"The guy who we had to kill for the first mission? The one you had me shoot arrows at?"</p><p>"Yep," Savina confirmed. "Your accuracy is terrifying, by the way. Remind me never to anger you. Anyway, he killed pretty much the entire company."</p><p>"So that's why you were so determined to kill him," Ashe murmured, clearly thinking her thoughts over.</p><p>"That must have sucked," Claude said. </p><p>"Eh, I've seen worse," Savina said. "A lot of bloody massacres have occured in front of me; it's not that painful to think about anymore. Probably not a good thing in actuality, but it's convenient for me."</p><p>Claude looked afraid while Ashe looked concerned, but they each shook themselves out of their trances relatively quickly. Claude smirked a bit, looking at Savina. "Alright, back to training."</p><p>"Like hell," Savina said, but she didn't make any move to leave the training grounds. </p><p>"Oh?" Ashe said, quirking an eyebrow. He seemed to have caught on to the females plan, but didn't give anything away to Claude. </p><p>"Nope," Savina said. She took the bow, hid an arrow, and walked across the room towards the racks where the training weapons were kept. Her face remained perfectly stoic, despite the laughter that threatened to bubble up. A strange, unfamiliar feeling, but welcome nonetheless. After all, when was the last time she allowed herself to freely fool around like this? Too long ago, that's for sure.</p><p>Savina quickly turned around and nocked the arrow, launching it across the room. The wood made contact with Claudes shoulder, who looked in wide-eyed surprise, seconds before Ashe began laughing.</p><p>"I'm sorry- just- your face-" Ashe said, clearly struggling to breathe through his laughter. Savinas chuckles had quickly joined the light haired males, and before long Claude was laughing along with the two. </p><p>The laughter reverberated throughout the wide space, bouncing off the walls until the door opened to reveal a sulking Felix. Savina straightened almost immediately, most traces of humor gone when she noticed the sour expression on the males face.</p><p>"What's up?" the blonde asked.</p><p>"The old man's visiting," Felix said, annoyance clear. "Apparently Miklan stole the damn Lance of Ruin and he's here to help us retrieve it."</p><p>"Rodrigues here?"</p><p>"Help us retrieve it?"</p><p>Felix sighed at the questions. "Yes, my father's here, he's in the knights hall. I don't think he knows you're alive, so that'll be a fun conversation. And yeah, apparently that's our mission for this month. Which I think is stupid, that should just be Margrave Gautiers job, but the Church wants to get the lance back."</p><p>"Go figure," Savina scoffed, shaking her head. "They've always wanted the damn heroes relics." She sighed as she put the bow she was holding down.</p><p>"Why were you holding a bow, by the way?" Felix asked. "Last time you used one you broke, like, three windows."</p><p>"First of all, that was the last time you saw me use one. Second of all, it was only two windows, not three. Third of all, ask these assholes," Savina declared. "I'm off to see your father, maybe scare him a bit by saying I'm a zombie."</p><p>"If you're doing that I'm coming with you," Felix said. </p><p>"I'm not actually going to. Besides, I doubt you actually want to be spotted by him," Savina said, raising her eyebrows at her friend.</p><p>Felix muttered something under his breath that was incomprehensible to her, but she didn't think too deep into it. He was probably just annoyed that she was able to read him so easily. This was something he often complained about nowadays, after all. She chuckled a little bit under her breath; he definitely acted like a youngest sibling, that was obvious. She felt bad for mentally mocking him, but also knew that her sister would have made fun of him plenty for it in the past few years. She wasn't dumb, and remembered how the two of them were before she left.</p><p>Before long, the blonde stood in front of the knights hall. She quickly climbed the few stairs leading up to it, leaning against the doorway as she waited for the lord to turn away from his conversation with Catherine. </p><p>"---I'm afraid I'm not sure what could have angered Miklan so much that he would have stolen the heroes relic," Rodrigue was saying, shaking his head and sighing. "I knew him, for a time. He always seemed bitter about his lack of a crest, so much so that he pushed poor Sylvain into a well in the middle of winter when they were younger, but I never thought it would get this bad..."</p><p>Savina chuckled as she overheard that part of the conversation, shaking her head. "Well, maybe if the Margrave had actually put any effort at all into raising Miklan, we wouldn't be here. But since he didn't know how to raise a crestless child, we're here now and there's nothing we can do about it."</p><p>"Well, I wouldn't be so quick to assign blame," Rodrigue said, turning around to see who had interrupted. His eyes widened upon seeing the girl whom he had though he lost. "It can't be... Savina?"</p><p>"Yours truly," she said, bowing to the other in the same fashion Glenn would bow to her father; humorously, clearly not meaning the formality of the gesture.</p><p>"But you were reported dead?" Rodrigue asked, confusion (and a bit of concern, but nobody else needed to know that) written all over his face. "I swear, if this is a dream..."</p><p>"Also known as I ran away," Savina said with a slight shrug. "And it's not a dream, don't worry. At least, if it is, I'm unaware of it."</p><p>Rodrigue had honestly been the hardest adult to leave behind. Savinas mother had died nearly a decade ago while giving birth to her youngest brother, and she wasn't very close to her father. The Margrave was a very reserved man and didn't really talk to his childrens friends, Savina included. Lambert was often too busy to speak to anyone besides other officials, in reality, so he was unable to kindle any sort of relationship with Savina or the others.</p><p>Rodrigue, on the other hand, made sure to talk to Felix and Glenn and their friends as long as he was able. Rodrigue felt more like a father to Savina than her own father did; the two were constantly exchanging letters, and they spent more time talking to each other when they were in the same space than they did talking to those of their own age. Savina always felt accepted by the man, and knew she could go to him with any worries that she had. </p><p>"Ran away, huh," Rodrigue commented with a slight chuckle. "Not everyone who was used to living the life of a lord can run away and make a life for themself."</p><p>"I'm not everyone," Savina said with a shrug. "I meant to send you a letter, but I must have forgotten in my haste."</p><p>"Don't worry about it," the man stated, his smile never fading from his face. "I understand completely. I tried running away when I was younger, but I was caught by the soldiers on duty."</p><p>"Perks of belonging to a less-powerful house, I suppose," Savina shrugged. She noticed that Rodrigue seemed to be heading out of the knights hall, most likely opting for a stroll through the gardens as they had done many times before. Though the strolls were usually through the castles of Galatea, Fraldarius, or the Fhirdiad Palace instead of the monastery, the sentiment and familiarity remained. </p><p>Savina smiled slightly at the memories, how she could tell him everything and anything. He helped her through her problems, and in exchange Savina helped him with the things that she could help with. She smiled as she remembered sparring him to help him train, helping him keep Felix in check, and other tasks that she hadn't let herself remember before now. </p><p>"So, how have the past few years been in Fraldarius and the other territories? I didn't keep up with it all that much after Duscur, though I can't imagine Rufus kept it in check during his reign." Savina had never liked nor trusted the male; he always unsettled her. She figured it was a good thing that he wasn't the heir of the kingdom and that it wouldn't have to suffer much more once the current class graduated from the Officers Academy and Dimitri could ascend the throne. </p><p>"You are, unfortunately, correct in that assumption. He's been too busy chasing down girls to fu--- I mean, ahem, <em>skirt chasing</em> to be an even semi-effective ruler." </p><p>Savina barked out a laugh at Rodrigues words, quickly quieting it down to slight snickers as she shook her head. "That must be where Sylvain gets it; it's not like the Margrave or Miklan was like that, and his mother died way before he could have picked it up from her, if she was ever even like that."</p><p>"You could be right," Rodrigue said with a small, familiar smile. "Or Sylvain could have been surrounded by too many pretty girls who turned out homosexual."</p><p>Savina shook her head, laughing a bit. "God, I can still remember his face when he realized I didn't like guys, period, forget him."</p><p>"That conversation probably haunts him," Rodrigue laughed, shaking his head. "I remember the confusion clear as day."</p><p>"That's honestly completely reasonable," Savina chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "He was very loud, to be fair."</p><p>"Very, very loud. But that's one of his many charms, I suppose," Rodrigue sighed, looking up at the quickly darkening sky. "The sunsets are beautiful here."</p><p>"They are," Savina agreed. "Though the prettiest sunsets I've seen were in Derdriu and a small town in Varley territory."</p><p>"You've really been all over, huh," Rodrigue wondered aloud. </p><p>"That I have. It was nice, travelling the continent. The land is truly beautiful, and each region has its own beauty to it," she reflected, recieving a nod from the dark-haired male beside her.</p><p>"You're right," Rodrigue said. "Sometimes we don't appreciate the beauty around us until it's gone, but it's never too late to embrace what we remember and did appreciate."</p><p>The corners of Savina's lips perked up as she nodded, a soft hum of agreement leaving her lips. "Truer than a lot of "life lessons" that are taught in various places."</p><p>Rodrigue laughed softly, and the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence for another few minutes before Rodrigue turned to face the blonde once again. "Isn't your birthday coming up this month?"</p><p>Savina's eyes widened for a moment in surprise. She had nearly forgotten her birthday on multiple occassions, forget celebrated it in the past five years. "I suppose it is. I nearly forgot, in all honesty; it slipped my mind."</p><p>Rodrigue chuckled softly, nodding a bit. "I see. It's a big one this year, isn't it? 20 years old..." He stared off into the sky for a moment, a small smile on his face as he likely remembered a time long passed. "I remember Lambert and my celebrations for our 20 years. That was probably the first time I got truly, righteously drunk."</p><p>Savina chuckled at the thought, shaking her head fondly. "I don't plan on celebrating or anything; I haven't in the past five years. I just have to hope none of the other four will make a big deal."</p><p>"Felix isn't likely to," Rodrigue said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dimitri forgot. Sylvain and Ingrid, however... good luck with that."</p><p>A soft chuckle left her lips at Rodrigues assessment of the four. "I suppose the hope of getting off easy is not one that I will see to fruition. Ingrid will probably give me five years worth of gifts that I wouldn't even know what to do with."</p><p>"You used to be quite the collector, showing off a broad collection of various things, no?" Rodrigue asked, turning to Savina.</p><p>"Well, I suppose. But I got used to only carrying what I needed with me; armor, a change of clothes, two swords, a wetstone, a few blankets, and a tent. Gotta pack light if you want to survive," Savina explained with a shrug. "I got out of the habit in my time away from home. I don't plan on picking it back up, either - I don't really plan on returning to Galatea territory, if I'm being honest."</p><p>"Hm, I suppose that makes sense," Rodrigue said with a nod. "Though you are second in line to become head, no?"</p><p>"I suppose I am," she hummed. "I'll kill Oliver if anything happens to him. No way in hell am I leading Galatea."</p><p>A soft snort of amusement left Rodrigue at her words, though his feelings weren't all happy. He remembered Felix saying something similar about Glenn, all those years ago. The image of his young, innocent 11-year-old son flashed in his mind, and he felt an ache in his heart as he remembered. When his sons were both alive and happy, both actively enjoyed his presence. He shook his head as if it would clear away his memories, turning back to the girl who had come closest to a daughter. "You never much seemed like a ruler. Though I'm sure you would do fine if the need arose."</p><p>"Ingrid's far better at that stuff than I am," Savina said with a shrug. "Both on and off the battlefield. She'd be better suited as our spare; she's the best at leading besides Oliver." </p><p>Savina sighed as memories of her brothers filled her mind. Oliver was the oldest, being two and a half years older than Savina. Asger was two years younger than Savina almost to the day, followed by Ingrid, who was a year younger. Then was twins Corey and Sivas, 3 years younger than Ingrid, and then baby Paxton, a whole 12 years younger than Savina. </p><p>"Paxton would likely be a good ruler as well, though I doubt you would know that. He was only three when you left, after all," Rodrigue murmured.</p><p>"How is he?" Savina inquired, looking into the amber eyes of the man beside her. She felt bad for leaving before he had a chance to grow up, and knew that he likely wouldn't remember her. But she was still curious of her brothers well-being.</p><p>"He reminds me a lot of you at that age," Rodrigue said. This surprised Savina; he shouldn't have any memory of her, and yet he acted just like her. It warmed her heart, if she was being honest. </p><p>"I suppose I should write to him some time," Savina said softly, thinking aloud. "Or maybe visiting would be better... though facing Oliver is not something I'm looking forward to."</p><p>"He's mellowed out in the past few years; I think coming here probably helped with that," her purple-haired companion informed. "I doubt it'll be as bad as you're expecting."</p><p>Savina sighed a bit as she nodded, a slight hum leaving her lips as she remembered the male. He looked more like their mother than their father, inheriting the more bulky stature and chestnut hair, but he had the same green eyes that Savina and Ingrid shared. She doubted he looked the same as she remembered him; he likely had more scars than before, if nothing else. She supposed a visit to her family home wouldn't be a horrible idea; she'd just have to drag Ingrid along with her. "I might visit soon..."</p><p>"That would be a good idea," Rodrigue said with a small smile. "Maybe visit the week of your birthday."</p><p>"I suppose taking a week off wouldn't be a bad thing," Savina murmured. It was an almost foreign concept to her; she hadn't truly taken a break in years. She supposed it was unhealthy, but she only did what she had to do in order to survive. It was a cruel world they lived in, after all. </p><p>"You'll probably be able to convince Ingrid to come with you fairly easily," Rodrigue said with a slight chuckle.</p><p>"Yeah," Savina agreed with a soft sigh. "I'm just worried she'll be a bit too enthusiastic. I'll talk to the professor about it later, though; visiting everyone wouldn't be a bad thing."</p><p>Rodrigue smiled a bit, observing the female from the corner of his eye. She had grown into a fine young lady, that much was apparent. He smiled at her, memories of times passed resurfacing. He remembered the girl she had been; chasing the others around enthusiastically during the day, but enjoying conversations with the adults during and after dinner. The maturity she always had became more apparent now, sharpened and hardened by years of hardship. </p><p>He just hoped that nothing more than what she had already experienced would face her in the future. He knew that was impossible - that just wasn't the way the world worked - but he was allowed to hope for the best for the closest thing to a daughter he had ever had.</p><p>After all, not all nobles had the steeled look of horrors past in their eyes or scars of previous battles with themselves or with others littering their body by the time they were 20.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Professor, can I speak to you for a moment?" Savina asked as the blue-haired woman released the class for the day. </p><p>"Hm?" Byleth said, turning around. "Of course, Savina. What is it?"</p><p>"Would I be able to miss classes next week?" she asked. "A visit to my family is long overdue, and my birthday is next Friday, so I figured then would be the prime time to visit."</p><p>"Of course," she said. "Just make sure to make up your studies. Will Ingrid be coming with you?"</p><p>"I haven't asked yet, but it's likely," Savina answered, nodding. Byleth nodded in response before dismissing her to ask her sister.</p><p>That Saturday, the two of them mounted their steeds early in the morning and set off for Galatea territory.</p><p>"I have to admit, this is rather... sudden," Ingrid said, a bit of uncertainty betrayed in her eyes. "You didn't even send a message ahead that you'd be visiting."</p><p>"I didn't deem it necessary," Savina replied, shrugging. "They'll know soon enough. Father is aware that I am alive, yes?"</p><p>"Of course; I sent a letter home almost as soon as we realized you were enrolled in the academy," Ingrid said from beside her.</p><p>"Of course you did," Savina laughed. "I'm glad he knows; that'll make at least one thing easier."</p><p>"I'm not helping you face them," Ingrid warned.</p><p>"I didn't expect you too. Though I'd be grateful if you distracted Oliver for at least some of our time there, otherwise he'll be up my ass about not saying anything our entire stay."</p><p>Ingrid laughed at her remarks, knowing full well that her sister was truly out of touch with their family. "He won't, I promise. He'll probably yell at you for about an hour and then just be glad you're back. The most likely to truly yell at you and be upset all week is Sivas."</p><p>"Sivas?" Savina repeated, completely taken aback. "Shy, soft-spoken Sivas?"</p><p>Ingrid had to contain her howls of laughter at Savina's reaction. "He changed a <em>lot </em>while you were gone. Corey is the tamer of the two now."</p><p>"That must be absolutely horrible," Savina said. </p><p>"At times," Ingrid giggled. "But they know where to draw the line. Usually."</p><p>"They act like Sylvain and Glenn did, don't they," Savina asked, her voice dropping all hints of humor despite the laughter dancing in her eyes.</p><p>"You betcha," Ingrid laughed. </p><p>"Oh goddess," Savina said, joining in with Ingrids laughter atop her steed. </p><p>"But in all seriousness, you probably have nothing to worry about," Ingrid said after calming down. "They'll probably just be happy to see you."</p><p>"Paxton will probably be happy to finally meet me, huh," Savina said softly.</p><p>"He's expressed the desire to meet you, yes," Ingrid said with a nod and a soft sigh. "You left when he was still so young... the only things he has to go off of are our stories of you."</p><p>"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'll explain to you why I left when I'm ready, I promise."</p><p>"Don't rush," Ingrid said. "You've never done something without good reason. And even if you did decide it wasn't the right choice, you would have come back. I know you; I know how you were then, and I know how you are now. And I trust that the decision was made with the best intentions."</p><p>"Thank you, Ingrid," she said with a small, earnest smile. She was glad to know that her sister trusted that she would tell her everything when she was ready. She just hoped that her brothers and father would be as accepting as Ingrid.</p><p>Before long, the sun had sunk below the horizon and the stars glowed brightly above the Galatea village the two were passing through. Savina knew that there were only a few miles left in their treck - a half hours ride at most. Nerves began to curl in the pit of her stomach, but excitement to see her family again was overpowering. She hadn't realized how much she missed them - and how much she missed out on - until they had set out for the Galatea estate.</p><p>Ingrid led her through the roads quickly and efficiently, and before long you could see the Galatea manor. Savina smiled as memories from a time long passed flooded her mind, and she felt giddy as she followed her sister to the stables to put away her horse.</p><p>Ingrid seemed to have picked up on her sisters excitement, as she turned to her with a smile. "You ready?"</p><p>"Yeah," she breathed, letting out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, I'm ready."</p><p>It was strange, walking up the path. It felt wrong, almost. Five years; that's how long it had been since she had walked this path. 60 moons, almost to the day. It was hard to belive that she was truly standing in front of the place she had called home so long ago, but the rational part of her understood that this was real. </p><p>A wave of nostalgia hit her the further they walked up to the door, and the candlelight streaming from the windows did nothing to help. She chuckled breathlessly, watching as Ingrid pushed the doors open.</p><p>Quickly shaking herself out of her trance, she smiled as Ingrid called into the hall. "Guess who returned!"</p><p>Savina stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do as she saw Oliver walk into the hall with a grin. "Ingrid! You didn't tell us you were coming home."</p><p>"You have that one to thank," Ingrid said, jerking her thumb in Savina's direction with a sly grin. Savina's eyes widened as she realized that there was no escape from this. <em>Wow, thanks a lot, Ing. Couldn't even let me get me in the house.</em></p><p>"Savina?"</p><p>"That's me," the blonde replied. "Presumably the one and only."</p><p>Savina was prepared to be yelled at, or for her brother to stand there in awe for a moment. But she was <em>not </em>prepared for Oliver to rush to her and wrap her in a hug. She tensed up for a moment, relaxing into his hold after a moment, but she was still caught completely off guard by her brothers actions. </p><p>"We thought you were dead," he murmured into her hair. Was he... crying? He had to be; the shakiness of his voice betrayed it. Her thoughts were soon confirmed as he let out a soft sob.</p><p>"I know," she murmured into his shoulder. "I know." She didn't apologize; that had been the point, after all. She never planned on reuniting with her family; them assuming her dead was the best option for her. But guilt curled in her gut as she wrapped her arms around her older brother, tears beginning to form in her own eyes.</p><p>She heard footsteps in front of her, lifting her head up as Oliver moved away. She wiped her eyes as she saw Sivas and Corey standing in the doorway, shock covering their faces. She sent a piercing glare at Ingrid, who was standing behind them. Her sister tried (and failed) to hide a giggle. </p><p>"Savina?" Corey asked softly after a moment. </p><p>"I'm home," she said with a smile, nodding. </p><p>"Do you know how <em>worried </em>we were?" Sivas said, walking up to his sister. "We thought you were dead, Vina. For <em>5 fucking years</em>. We thought you were gone, without any of us getting to say goodbye!" </p><p>"Yeah, I get it, it was a shitty move," Savina admitted. "In my defense, I knew that you guys would make me stay if I did tell you I was leaving, so I didn't tell anyone."</p><p>"Why did you leave, though?" Corey asked. </p><p>"That is information I'm not ready to share," Savina said with a slight shrug. "I'll tell you guys eventually, though."</p><p>"Assuming you don't die before then," Oliver said, raising his eyebrow.</p><p>"I have it written down if that does happen," Savina said with a shrug. "But I stayed alive this long without others watching my back; now that I'm actually working with people, I'll be fine."</p><p>"You mean to tell me you were <em>alone</em> the past 5 years?" Sivas all but yelled.</p><p>"I had my horse!" Savina protested.</p><p>"That's not the same as having another human being with you," Corey argued. "You didn't go 5 years without social contact, did you?"</p><p>"Well, I had to interact with blacksmiths and merchants and stuff, and I had a job cause I needed to survive, but otherwise yeah," Savina said with a shrug. "I honestly don't see the problem here."</p><p>"Who's that?"</p><p>All heads turned to see Paxton standing at the end of the hallway. Savina's breath caught in her throat as she took in his appearance; oh, how he had changed. She wasn't sure why she was so surprised; it wasn't like she had been present in the majority of his life. But it was still strange, mentally comparing baby him to the boy who now stood before her.</p><p>"It's Savina," Oliver said with a soft smile. Savina watched as her youngest brothers eyes lit up with excitement and curiosity. </p><p>"Hey, Paxton," she said, a smile on her face. "I doubt you remember me, but I hear you've heard stories."</p><p>Paxton nodded as he walked over. "You look different than I imagined... and different from what they told me, too, I suppose."</p><p>"Well, it has been five years," Ingrid said defensively. </p><p>Savina chuckled softly as she watched her siblings interact, smiling at the group. "Where's Asger?" she asked, turning to Oliver.</p><p>"In his room; he probably didn't hear you. He gets like that when he's studying," Oliver explained.</p><p>Savina nodded a bit. "Did he go down the magic path like I thought he would?"</p><p>"Maybe," Oliver said, looking away.</p><p>"You owe me 50 gold," Savina said with a smirk. She remembered the bet they had placed almost 7 years ago; she had no doubt that Oliver remembered as well.</p><p>"I suppose I do," he said with a sigh. "C'mon, let's go get him. I'll give you your gold on the way back."</p><p>Savina chuckled a bit, playfully punching her brothers arm and recieving a grunt of pain. "Oh come on, that wasn't even that hard."</p><p>"You clearly have no idea how strong you are, then," Oliver muttered as he led her through the hallways of the manor. "You can stay in your room, by the way; Father didn't have the heart to move anything, in hopes that you'd one day return."</p><p>"I suppose you got lucky, then," Savina said with a light chuckle.</p><p>"What do you mean?" he asked turning to face his sister.</p><p>"I didn't plan on coming back," she said with a shrug. "Hell, nothing went according to my plan starting in the Guardian Moon, when Seteth and Rhea recruited me."</p><p>"They did <em>what</em>," Oliver asked. Well, it was less of a question, more of a statement, or a demand. Demand was a better word.</p><p>"I'll explain later, I don't want to risk the younger ones overhearing. Especially not Ingrid," she said with a soft sigh. Oliver gave her a questioning glance, but didn't press further. </p><p>"Asger," Oliver said as he pushed the door open. "Guess who's here."</p><p>"Did Ingrid pop by?" the blonde asked, not looking up.</p><p>"Well, yes, but that's not all," Oliver said, walking to the end of the room with a slight smirk. Savina muffled her laughter as she waited in the doorway.</p><p>"Sylvain?"</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>"Felix."</p><p>"Nah, you know he doesn't want to come here."</p><p>"...Dimitri?"</p><p>This got a laugh out of Oliver. "If Ingrid brought His Highness home, you would know."</p><p>"Who is it, then?" Asger asked, finally looking up to glare at his brother. "If it's someone I don't know, get out of my room."</p><p>"I should hope you know her," Oliver said, trying (and failing) to hide his smirk.</p><p>"<em>Her</em>?" Asger asked. "If it's some stupid noblewoman who Father was trying to set me up with, tell her to leave me the fuck alone."</p><p>"First of all, no, it's not anyone you've been set up with. Second of all, watch your language," Oliver said, humor in his voice.</p><p>"Who is it then? Unless Savina has miraculously returned from the dead or something, I honestly don't give a shit, Oliver," Asger sighed, his voice growing almost melancholic as he mentioned their lost sister.</p><p>"Looks like you care, then," Savina said, stepping into the room. Asgers eyes widened as he turned around so fast he fell out of his chair, and Olivers laughter as he saw his brothers reaction could likely be heard throughout the manor.</p><p>"You, shut the fuck up," Asger said as he stood up, glaring at Oliver. "You," he continued, turning to his sister, "have a <em>lot</em> of explaining to do."</p><p>"No I don't; all you need to know is that I'm alive, enrolled at the Officers Academy, and staying here for the next week," Savina said with a shrug and a smirk.</p><p>"I think I'm owed an explaination as to why the fuck you left without saying goodbye," he said with a raised eyebrow. </p><p>"And I think I'm allowed to keep stuff to myself if I want to," Savina said, giving him a smile that wasn't really a smile. </p><p>"Fair enough," Asger said with a sigh. "I've just been worried; I'm sorry"</p><p>"Perfectly alright," Savina said, striding over to help Asger off the floor. "I heard you're focusing on magic; which division?"</p><p>"Reason," Asger said, brushing himself off. "Though I know the basic heal spell from Oliver."</p><p>"Holy knight?" Savina guessed as she glanced up at her older brother.</p><p>"Yes, but not until after I graduated," Oliver said with a sigh. "Manuela made me the Blue Lions dancer."</p><p>"That must've been a sight to see," Savina joked.</p><p>"To be fair, that is how he ended up dating a member of House Rowe," Asger said. "So he really can't be all mad."</p><p>"Oh, shut up Asger," Oliver said, trying to hide his ever-growing blush.</p><p>"Awww, Oliver got a girlfriend!" Savina said with a devious grin.</p><p>"Shut the fuck up," he muttered under his breath.</p><p>"I don't think I will," she said with a grin.</p><p>"You've changed," Asger said bluntly.</p><p>"Five years does that to a person," Savina said with a shrug. "Take Sivas, for example. He'd barely talk to anyone besides Ingrid and Corey before I left."</p><p>"He's changed, that's for sure," Oliver said with a slight chuckle.</p><p>Savina hummed a bit, leaning against the wall with a tired sigh. The candlelight glowed in her jade-like eyes, reflecting back at the two boys in the room.</p><p>Memories swirled in their minds; memories of a time long since passed. Oliver remembered sparring with the other, the sessions only getting more and more intense as they got older. Those last few months before she left, he barely notched a win against her; she must have been preparing for months before she left. It was strange to think about, feeling almost wrong, but it was the only thing that made sense; it certainly explained her rapidly heightening abilities.</p><p>"Savina, come spar," Oliver decided.</p><p>"Sure," she said with a shrug, pushing herself off the wall. "Faith or physical weapons?"</p><p>"You know faith?" he asked, slightly surprised.</p><p>"A couple spells, yeah. Heal, Nosferatu, Recover, and Seraphim. Seraphim's iffy but I can usually make it work," Savina said nonchalantly. "I'm trying to teach myself Abraxas and Warp, but it's not going too well. Doesn't help that Warp requires a practice dummy but nobody wants to let me try it on them."</p><p>"Huh. How much reason do you know?" Asger asked, seemingly intrigued by the conversation taking place.</p><p>"Eh, not a ton," she said with a shrug. "I have a wind affinity, so I can cast Wind, Cutting Gale, and a semi-reliable Sagittae."</p><p>"Strange," Asger murmured. "I have a dark magic affinity."</p><p>"I have a fire affinity, and Ingrid has an ice affinity," Oliver offered. "Paxton has an electric affinity, and the twins have fire affinities."</p><p>"I wonder if you can cast Agnea's Arrow..." Asger murmured. "That's usually learned by people with a more fire or electric based affinity, but in theory it can be learned by anyone, unlike Bolting or Fimbulvetr.</p><p>"I doubt it. My bet is that my best spell will be Excaliber or Abraxas," Savina reasoned. "That does correspond with my other spells."</p><p>"It's still a thought to consider. Try learning it if anyone else does, ask them to teach you," Oliver replied. "That being said, lets go. For today, lets just go magic."</p><p>"Alright. But if my Cutting Gale kills you, it's not my fault," Savina said with a shrug.</p><p>"I know reason, I'll be fine. It won't kill me, at the very least, and even if it does you should know either Physic or Restore if you already know Aura," Oliver called over his shoulder, already on his way to the training grounds.</p><p>The Galatea training grounds were by no means grand; just big enough to allow people to train with their short-ranged weapons or spar with magic. But it held many memories; when Oliver accidentally cast his first Fire spell, when Sivas tried to use an axe for the first time. When Corey accidentally threw a lance out a window, when Ingrids crest activated for the first time. It all made Savina smile; this room had the most happy memories associated with it. </p><p>She quickly took a stance at one end of the room, with Oliver at the other. Asger had managed to get Ingrid in to watch, though Savina suspected he had to bribe her. She didn't pay much attention to it, however. </p><p>"Start!" </p><p>Savina immediately summoned her sigil, casting a Wind spell to start. She watched as the knife-like disc of air sped to Oliver, who dodged enough for it to just graze his shoulder. He was already summoning a spell, though Savina was unsure of what it was; she didn't mind, whatever it turned out to be. She doubted it would be anything she hadn't seen before.</p><p>She was right, and quickly jumped out of the way of an oncoming Bolganone. Savina quickly cast a simple Cutting Gale in retaliation, watching with a small smirk as it nailed her brother square in the chest and sent him flying into the padded walls. The padding had been put there after Asger got a concussion while trying to spar Oliver; the entire family had helped to put them up. <em>Nearly 10 years ago... the twins were just picking up their swords for the first time.</em> Savina let her smirk even out, softening as she remembered. </p><p>Quickly, however, she felt the oncoming heat of a Fire spell and rolled out of the way in the nick of time. She saw Oliver scrunch up his face in frustration, but he didn't comment. Savina summoned her sigil, casting a Sagittae at her brother as she ducked his oncoming Fire spell. She heard him grunt in pain, but he got up quickly and shot another Fire spell at her.</p><p>"What? Is that all you know?" she teased, dancing out of the way of his spell.</p><p>"Well, considering the fact that Father doesn't like me casting Ragnarok in the house, yes," Oliver said with a glare.</p><p>"I thought you knew faith?" she said, hiding her smirk as she raised her eyebrows.</p><p>"Do you <em>want</em> to be on the recieving end of an Abraxas?" Oliver asked incredulously, dropping his guard. Savina saw this as her opportunity and quickly cast a Cutting Gale, which knocked Oliver to the ground with a groan of pain. "Alright, you win."</p><p>Savina walked over to heal him and help him up. "Never let your guard down, even during training. Especially if you're training with magic."</p><p>"Clearly," he muttered angrily.</p><p>"Savina, why don't you use magic during battles at Garreg Mach?" Ingrid asked.</p><p>"I haven't been able to put my blade away fast enough," she said with a shrug. "I'm more worried about protecting the others than utilizing my magic. Their inexperience is... saddening. You saw Annette after her first kill; she was pale as a ghost."</p><p>"Wait, Annette Dominic?" Asger asked as he turned to Savina.</p><p>"Yeah, why?" she asked.</p><p>"She was a year below me at the Royal School of Sorcery," he explained. "Never thought I'd hear from her again. Didn't realize she was attending Garreg Mach; not surprised, since her grades were so high and her work ethic was obvious. I suppose that means Lorenz Gloucester and Mercedes von Martritz are there this year as well?"</p><p>"Yeah," Ingrid said with a nod. "Lorenz is an ass, he's tried asking me out several times. Mercedes is a god damn angel."</p><p>"Just punch Lorenz next time he asks you out, that's what I did," Savina said. "Broke his nose, he hasn't said anything else to me since."</p><p>Oliver laughed from his place on the ground, shaking his head when he got up. "I'm surprised you didn't punch Sylvain."</p><p>"The only reason I didn't was because he only did it seriously the once, and that was when I told him I was lesbian. I think that was more shocking than a punch," Savina said.</p><p>"I forgot about that," Ingrid said, a small smile on her face. "He was so shocked he didn't flirt with anyone for like, a week and a half."</p><p>"Which may be his record," Savina said.</p><p>"I wouldn't be surprised," Ingrid sighed, shaking her head good-naturedly. </p><p>All four heads turned when the door opened, revealing a tall blonde man whos eyes widened as he saw his daughters in the room.</p><p>"Ingrid, it's wonderful to see you again," he said, giving her a nod before turning to his elder daughter.</p><p>"Hi, Father," Savina said, a nervous laugh leaving her lips.</p><p>"Savina Cecelia Galatea," he said, raising his eyebrows as he stared at his daughter. She saw Oliver shiver out of the corner of her eye, but she met her fathers glare with steely determination. </p><p>"I'm home," she shrugged. </p><p>"Where were you for the past five years?" he asked, but there was none of the intended venom in his voice. There was just worry; Savina felt a pang of guilt as she stared back at her father. </p><p>"Traveling Fódlan," Savina said. It wasn't a lie, per se; she had been traveling the continent.</p><p>"Without doing anything except leaving almost half of your gold?" he asked. </p><p>"I never planned on coming back," she explained with a shrug. "And I figured you would need it more than me."</p><p>"What did you do to support yourself?" Count Galatea asked.</p><p>"Picked up whatever jobs I could while traveling. I don't remember most of them, since they were boring," she said with a shrug. <em>How far from the truth. </em>She remembered every face, every scream. "But I know I worked in Derdriu as a blacksmith for a couple months. That's why my palms are so scarred; I was really bad at it."</p><p>Another white lie. She'd tell them the truth eventually; she had sworn herself that much. But for now, this story would last. It seemed to satisfy her father, at least for the time being. </p><p>She hoped it would continue to satisfy him.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"That was exhausting."</p><p>Savina sighed as she sat down beside Ashe and Claude during lunch the following Sunday, still exhausted from the training and celebrating that had occured at the Galatea manor.</p><p>"Visiting your family? Exhausting?" Ashe asked, an eyebrow raised.</p><p>"I haven't seen them in five years and I have one older brother and four younger brothers, as well as my father," Savina said with a sigh.</p><p>"Oh, that must have been hell," Claude said. "Especially since your birthday was Friday."</p><p>"How did you know?" Savina asked, eyes wide.</p><p>"Sylvain."</p><p>"I'm gonna kill that ginger son of a bitch one of these days," she muttered bitterly, earning a laugh from Claude and a snort from Ashe. </p><p>"Oh, right, the Professor recruited a couple people," Ashe reported. "Caspar, Linhardt, Cyril, Lorenz, Leonie, and Marianne."</p><p>"Traitors," Claude added, though humor was dancing in his tone and eyes.</p><p>"Isn't Caspar the one you keep staring at?" Savina asked Ashe, muffling a giggle as his cheeks turned pink.</p><p>"Of course not!" he said defensively. </p><p>"Uh huh," she said, still muffling her laughter. "You aren't very believable when you're blushing."</p><p>This only made Ashe blush harder, which got a laugh out of the Golden Deer house leader.</p><p>"Do you guys mind if I sit here?" </p><p>Savina turned around and almost cackled when she discovered the owner of the voice. "Of course, Caspar." Ashe sent a very flustered glare at his blonde friend, who smirked at him. </p><p>"I'm gonna take my leave, I promised Hilda I'd fish with her today," Claude lied smoothly.</p><p>"Oh, Felix wanted to spar," Savina said as she pretended to look at the clock. </p><p>"I hate you both," Ashe mumbled, recieving an odd look from an oblivious Caspar. </p><p>Claude and Savina were able to make it out of the dining hall before collapsing in an unceremonious heap of laughter.</p><p>"He's oblivious, too," Savina said as she leaned against the outer wall of the dining hall. "Caspar has no idea."</p><p>"It just makes it that much better," Claude said, still winded from laughing so hard. "I feel kinda bad for ditching him, but he needs it."</p><p>"Oh, absolutely," Savina said, catching her breath as she finally stopped laughing.</p><p>"Caspar needs it too."</p><p>Savina turned to the voice, discovering Linhardt as the owner. "Oh?"</p><p>"He's been crushing on Ashe since the first weeks of school," Linhardt said with a shrug. "We've been best friends since we were little; I would know."</p><p>"That makes it, like, 10 times better," Claude said.</p><p>"I bet 100 gold that they'll get together by the Red Wolf Moon," Savina said.</p><p>"I bet 100 they'll get together by the end of the Wyvern Moon," Linhardt said, raising his eyebrows at Savina.</p><p>"I'll get in on this too, I suppose," Claude said. "100 gold they won't get together til the Ethereal Moon."</p><p>"You're putting too much faith in that Ashe won't slip up in the next two months," Savina pointed out.</p><p>"And you're both putting too much faith in that Caspar will be able to hold himself back from kissing Ashe before the end of next month," Linhardt said. "Now, I'm off to take a nap."</p><p>With that, the green-haired mage was gone.</p><p>"Damn," Savina said, smiling brightly as she shook her head. "I haven't had that much fun teasing someone since Sylvain almost got maimed by a pitchfork for coming onto some guys sister."</p><p>"That must have been a sight to see," Claude said with a chuckle. </p><p>"It was. Ingrid's lecture was funny too," Savina said with a chuckle as she stood. "Anyways, I did tell Felix that I'd spar him today, so I'm going to go find him before he pesters me about it."</p><p>"Good idea," Claude said with a nod.</p><p>And she was off.</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"We're almost at the top," Savina reported, returning to Byleth as they rested for a moment. They were 14 stories up, and healing any wounds that hadn't been cared for on the battlefield before they went to meet Miklan head on. </p><p>"Good to know," Byleth said with a nod. She had sent Savina ahead as she had no surface injuries; the only signs she had been in battle were the dried blood of her enemies on her armor. She had barely even broken a sweat, and Byleth suspected that the sheen of sweat on her forehead was from the heat of the Verdant Rain Moon and not from the physical exertion. </p><p>It reminded the woman of herself.</p><p>Savina sighed a bit, leaning against a wall as she looked at her companions. A few of the newly-recruited kids had joined them, though others had opted to stay behind. Only so many could come, after all.</p><p>"We should hurry," Sylvain said. "Everyone seems to be ready."</p><p>The male was right, and Savina nodded a bit. Byleth seemed to agree, as she quickly gave the order to move out. Sylvain and Savina led the charge, hurrying up the stairs. </p><p>"We need to convince Miklan quickly," Savina said to the cavalier beside her. She, who had just passed her latest certification exam that morning, had opted for the intermediate "mercenary" class for now, though was unsure of what she was going to do when she mastered it. Likely become a swordmaster, though that was boring to her. "We can't afford to have him hang onto it for too long."</p><p>"It sounds almost as if you have experience with this," Sylvain said as he pulled his lance out of the chest of an enemy with a grunt. </p><p>"Eh, not really. But I've heard rumors; when you're working for some of the best lords in Fódlan, you get intell that not everyone has access to," Savina answered. She heard a hum of approval from Sylvain as she swiftly decapitated an enemy without batting an eye.</p><p>"It still terrifies me how unfazed you are when killing someone," Sylvain said.</p><p>"I may appear it outwardly, but that's just an intimidation tactic," Savina said with a shrug as she wiped her sword on her clothes. "I remember the face of everyone I've killed, though. And, unfortunately, it's a lot of people."</p><p>There was a melancholic undertone to her words, and Sylvain seemed to pick up on it. He gave her a sympathetic look as she pressed forward, slashing at an enemy before jumping out of the way of their retaliation attempt. She quickly delt the finishing blow, stabbing the bandit right between the eyes before pulling her sword out. </p><p>"You should switch to something heavier," Sylvain observed after he finished off another enemy. "It's clear your struggling with how light that sword is."</p><p>"I would if I could, but the next best thing I have is a Brave Sword; I'm using steel right now," Savina explained with a sigh. </p><p>"If you have a heavier sword, you should use it. For the time being, at least."</p><p>"Brave Swords feel weird," she muttered before switching from the steel. </p><p>"You'll get used to it, you're adaptable," Sylvain said with a shrug. Savina let out a light chuckle, shaking her head good naturedly as she observed her surroundings. </p><p>"I'd guess theres a staircase behind that wall leading up to Miklan," Savina said after a moment.</p><p>"How do you know?" Sylvain asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"If you listen closely, you can hear feet seeming to descend from a staircase. This is the top floor," Savina said with a shrug. "It's the only explaination."</p><p>"You're kind of crazy, you now that?" </p><p>"Eh, so I've heard," Savina replied with a shrug and a smirk. "But, well, if it'll help us, y'know, not die, I'm willing to indulge in that craziness."</p><p>"Fair enough," Sylvain said with a sigh. He shook his head with a light chuckle. "I wonder how Miklan will react to seeing you."</p><p>"Hopefully he'll be surprised enough you can attack him, even if you have to resort to your fire spell," Savina said with a shrug.</p><p>"You know how unreliable that spell is," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Byleth said not to use it unless absolutely necessary."</p><p>"And I think defeating your brother would be deemed necessary, don't you?" Savina asked, using the tone Sylvain found all-too sweet and all-too familiar.</p><p>"So that's where Ingrid gets it," Sylvain muttered. Savina chuckled a bit before running up to an armored unit, switching her sword out for an Armorslayer before quickly disposing of the man under the metal.</p><p>"Unfortunately for you," she said. "Now, c'mon. Time to go kill your devil of a brother."</p><p>"Calling him a devil is insulting to devils," Sylvain said.</p><p>"I'd call him a monster, but then I'd be insulting myself," Savina said with a shrug.</p><p>Sylvain gave her a strange look, but she ignored it. She opted to run forward to take care of an archer, signalling for her ally to take out a brawler on the other side of the hallway. She sighed a bit as she heard screams of pain reverberate, though she wasn't sure if it was inside her own mind or if it was throughout the actual tower. </p><p>"We should continue on," Sylvain said as he came back to her, his horse's hooves breaking Savina out of her trance.</p><p>"Not until I heal that wound on your shoulder, we're not," she said, glaring at her friend as she walked up to him. She gently placed a hand on his left shoulder, casting a heal spell and watching the white magic seep into his skin.</p><p>"I didn't know you could heal," Sylvain muttered.</p><p>"I'm fairly skilled with white magic, actually," Savina said. "Though I know more offensive spells than defensive."</p><p>Sylvain just nodded, pulling away when the wound had closed and healed. He sighed a bit. "Do you think we should wait for backup?"</p><p>"Byleth told us at the beginning that if we could go to just go. Not everyone has built up good stamina, and we've already had to fight a lot of bandits," Savina pointed out wiping her forehead free from sweat. "The effort is even getting to me."</p><p>"I think we should at least wait for Ingrid," Sylvain said. </p><p>"No need," Savina said, spotting the pegasus as she turned around. She looked below her, and discovered Dimitri and Felix. "Looks like we're all here."</p><p>"Savina, Sylvain, go on ahead, we'll catch up," Felix called out. "We were going to join you sooner but an archer almost killed Ingrid."</p><p>"Then why the hell is she still fighting?" Savina yelled back.</p><p>"Mercedes and Linhardt," Dimitri replied. "Go on ahead, worry about her later. Lets just kill Miklan while we have the chance."</p><p>Savina sighed but nodded, turning back around. "C'mon."</p><p>She and Sylvain quickly fought their way through the opposing bandits, though they kept a slower pace than they had previously in order to let Dimitri, Ingrid, and Felix catch up. Before long, they were quickly pushing through as a group.</p><p>"Right around the corner here is a staircase, and Miklan will likely be there," Savina informed the others, who all nodded. She sighed a bit as she stabbed another archer in the chest, knowing that the battle that was about to ensue would not be pretty. Insecurity churned in her stomach, and she feared what was to come as she began to climb the stairs.</p><p>Miklan looked... different. He had a long scar along his face, something he hadn't had when she left. His hair had grown out considerably, and it was clear he was angry. But when he laid eyes on the blonde girl he thought was dead, he faltered.</p><p>"What are you doing here?"</p><p>His voice was rougher than Savina remembered it being, but she pushed the thought away. It had been over 5 years, after all; she could barely remember the last time she had seen Miklan Gautier. </p><p>"She was deployed," Sylvain said from beside her. "Along with me."</p><p>"Why have you come, you Crest-bearing fool?" Miklan said, turning his glare to Sylvain. <em>Okay, plan A failed.</em></p><p>"I'm here for the Lance of Ruin, Miklan. Hand it over. I don't want to humiliate you, but I will," Sylvain said calmly.</p><p>Miklan growled at his words. "Hurry up and die already. If not for you... if it hadn't been for you..."</p><p>Savina was about to step forward to fight him, but Sylvain put an arm in front of her. "Shut up! I'm so tired of hearing that. You always blamed me for something that isn't my fault!"</p><p>"Miklan, please," Savina said, pushing past Sylvains arm. "Give us the Lance. If you do, you will live to see another day."</p><p>"As if, Savina," he said with a scowl. </p><p>"I know you don't care about your family---" she began, but was quickly cut off.</p><p>"I don't want to hear about family from <em>you, </em>the girl who abandoned her family and didn't even come back in their most dire time of need. You abandoned them," he said, anger evident in his gaze. "At least I was disowned. But you? You had no reason to leave. You were happy, you were comfortable, and yet you left. And for what? What did you gain, huh?"</p><p>"Leave her alone!" Ingrid yelled from where she was struggling against an armored unit.</p><p>"You're right," Savina said with a seemingly defeated sigh. "I did abandon my family. I did leave them behind. But I had good reason. I had something I needed to do. You were disowned because you attacked Sylvain because of something his blood just so happens to hold. It isn't his fault, just as it isn't yours. You have every right to be angry. But weilding that lance is dangerous."</p><p>Miklan scoffed as the words left Savina's mouth. "I don't care whether or not you had a good reason. I don't want to be lectured on family from someone who left theirs willingly."</p><p>Savina kept her face stoic, but internally smirked as she saw Felix sneaking around behind Miklan to catch him off guard and attack. She just needed to keep him distracted. </p><p>"You never really wanted to be lectured on family by anyone," Savina countered. "Or lectured on anything at all, really."</p><p>Miklan sneered at her, his muscles tensing as if he was preparing to attack her. Savina almost laughed; it was like he was trying to be sneaky. </p><p>"I don't need you to tell me anything," Miklan growled.</p><p>"What if I told you Felix is behind you ready to strike?"</p><p>His eyes widened as he turned around, just to be met with a sword in his shoulder. He jumped back with a grunt. "Heh... not bad for your kind. A bunch of spoiled rotten children."</p><p>And that's when Savina realized why she had such a bad feeling about the entire situation.</p><p>The Lance of Ruin's Crest Stone begins to glow a brilliant red before some sort of black and red substance begins to crawl up Miklans arms and around his body. </p><p>Savina recognized the texture of the substance and exhaled unsteadily. She knew what was happening, but she couldn't do anything about it. She felt paralyzed as she stared at Miklan, terror with a mix of recognition glowing in her eyes. She barely registered when Sylvain scooped her onto his horse beside him to get her out of harms way.</p><p>He was turning into a Demonic Beast. And there was nothing Savina could do to stop it.</p><p>"Miklan? Is that you?" Sylvain said, terror in his gaze as he stared at the Black Beast. </p><p>"So this is the power of a heroes relic..." Dimitri muttered softly.</p><p>Savina climbed off Sylvains horse, shaking herself out of her stupor with a sigh. "We need to break its armor first," she called out. "Anyone commanding a battalion, use their charges to attack before going in to attack yourself. There will be shards when we break its armor, so be careful of that. The armor is made out of Umbral Steel, which can be used to repair Heroes Relics. We'll want to pick that up if we can, so be mindful."</p><p>The group around her nodded, though Ingrid shot her a questioning glance and Byleth looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Savina turned away and charged with the others, allowing for the battallions to do their work as she disposed of anything that would hinder her magic.</p><p>"Mercedes! Annette! Linhardt!" she called out. "Your spells will help break the armor!"</p><p>The three mages seemed to be in shock for a moment before shaking themselves out of it, quickly casting spells. Mercedes threw a simple Fire spell at the best, while Annette and Linhardt used Wind. Savina joined them after ditching anything that she didn't need; she wanted to be able to help the others. </p><p>She grunted as she threw a Cutting Gale at the beast, wincing internally as she realized that she was hurting Miklan. But her face remained unflinchingly stoic, displaying no emotion. Some could say she even looked bored. </p><p>Everything was going fine. They were close to breaking the beasts armor, Savina could tell that much. Another well-placed Bolganone from Mercedes would do the trick, and Savina told Mercedes where to cast it. The armor broke, and Savina let out a sigh of relief. The first obstacle had been taken care of. </p><p>Now they just had to kill the beast.</p><p>Savina grabbed her sword, brandishing it as she ran forward. She timed it well, and if it hadn't been for Ingrid swooping in from above at the same time, everything would have been okay.</p><p>But naturally, her leg got caught underfoot of the beast as it stumbled in pain from Ingrids attack. Savina let out a groan of pain as she felt the limb shatter, and she knew she'd be of no use for a while. But while she was still stuck, she was able to cast a quick Cutting Gale before Caspar finally noticed that she was stuck.</p><p>"Sylvain!" he yelled out. "Get over here! Savina's stuck under the beast!"</p><p>Heads turned to the blue-haired male, before they turned to see Savina's face screwed up in pain and her left leg caught underneath the heavy beasts foot. Sylvain hurried over, urging his horse to go as fast as possible as Caspar and Ashe worked on luring it off of her. She grunted in pain as her leg was jostled, biting her lip and screwing her eyes shut as she was helped onto Sylvains horse and carried out of the danger zone. </p><p>"Sorry about that," Savina groaned as she was lowered to the ground.</p><p>"Nothing you could have done," Sylvain said with a shrug. "If you see something, yell at us. Otherwise, rest until Mercedes and Linhardt can work on healing you."</p><p>Savina nodded a bit and watched as Sylvain rode back into the fray before she chuckled bitterly. She glanced at her leg; she'd be out of commission for a couple weeks at least. This was the most serious injury she had gotten since she fell of a pegasus at 14. She smiled bitterly as she leaned against the wall and observed the fight. She'd try to help with her magic, but she was too far away; it'd just fizzle out before it landed. She supposed that was the point, but knowing that she couldn't help her friends and sister fight left a sour taste in her mouth. </p><p>"Damn it, Savina," she muttered. "You just had to go and get yourself trampled."</p><p>Before long, the beast fell, and Miklan and the Lance of Ruin were revealed. Byleth picked the Lance up, and Linhardt and Mercedes hurried to Savina's side to heal her. </p><p>"Shattered," Mercedes announced. "You'll be in the infirmary for two weeks, probably, and then out of commission for another week or so."</p><p>"But I'll still be able to participate in next months mission, right?" Savina asked.</p><p>"If you take care of yourself, probably," Mercedes said with a nod. "But you'll have to be careful, both during the month and during the mission. And recovery will likely be painful."</p><p>Savina nodded a bit, and Leonie carried her on her horse until they got to the bottom of the tower. Savina rode in the wagon they brought just in case something like this happened; she was grateful for that, at least. She saw Ingrid dealing with her horse, and smiled a bit; Ingrid was best fit for the job, and she seemed to have realized this. </p><p>Before long, Savina was asleep as Mercedes knelt beside her to heal her leg.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry it's been so long, I got hit with a bad bout of writer's block. This chapter is shorter than the last one, but I'll make it up with the next chapter. I'll be including the events of the DLC as well as the regular storyline with the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Pro tip: don't get crushed by a demonic beast while trying to fight it."</p><p>Felix let out a dry laugh as he sat down beside the blonde, who was clearly pissed at being confined to the infirmary. "How long are you stuck here?"</p><p>"Mercedes estimated two weeks, but she doesn't know my healing rate since I've never actually gotten hurt in a battle before now," Savina replied with a light groan. "My guess is a week, week and a half max."</p><p>"Damn, that's rough," Felix muttered. "You better not let your sword skills dull at all."</p><p>"I've been out of commission longer than this," Savina said with a light shrug. "Longest was a month and a half."</p><p>"Damn, that long?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "You're lucky you didn't have to start all over again."</p><p>"It was a year and a half ago; by then, I'd already been using a sword for 15 years," Savina said dryly. "If I rusted that bad in a month and a half, we'd have a real problem."</p><p>"True," Felix said with a slight nod. He leaned back, sighing a bit. "How did you know what to do with the demonic beast, anyway?"</p><p>"Experience," she said with a slight shrug. "I ran into a lot of them on the road for some reason."</p><p>"Huh. Strange," her companion muttered a bit. </p><p>"I thought so too," the blonde replied. "Not as strange as some other things I've done, though."</p><p>"Like what?" Felix asked, quirking an eyebrow.</p><p>"I had to be a bodyguard for Acheron for a couple of months once," Savina replied, cringing slightly. "Worst few months of my life, he's such a fucking idiot."</p><p>"How the hell did you land yourself a position as a bodyguard for one of the pickiest nobles in the entire Alliance?" Felix asked, incredulous.</p><p>"I have no clue," she said with a shrug.</p><p>"You had to have been recommended by someone. Either that or you had to build up a reputation, and I doubt he'd go for anyone without a good reputation from all three countries. I think I'd know if there was some mercenary or bodyguard or whatever with that great a reputation and going by the name Savina, or something close to it," he said, shaking his head as he tried to come up with an explanation. "The only person coming to mind is Blackened Sky, and she was killed in Duscur along with everyone else. And even then, that doesn't even make sense."</p><p><em>Do I tell him?</em> The thought sat uncomfortably in her chest. It was the opportune moment; nobody else was around. But she wasn't sure how he'd react; she wasn't sure if he was ready to hear it. Logically, she doubted that Felix would push her away or get mad. But fears often don't listen to logic. Bastards.</p><p>"There's something I should probably tell you," she said, chuckling nervously. <em>Why are you doing this?</em></p><p>"Spit it out, then," Felix said, auburn eyes glaring at her with no venom.</p><p>"I may or may not be Blackened Sky," she said hurriedly, giving him a nervous smile and running her fingers through her hair as he gaped.</p><p>"You're <em>what</em>?" he yelled.</p><p>"Keep it down, keep it down," she said, eyes widening as she listened for footsteps. "I'm Blackened Sky."</p><p>"Blackened Sky died four years ago, Savina," he said.</p><p>"There was no proof other than half-melted armor," she reminded him. "The enigmatic mercenary was never actually reported dead, just assumed."</p><p>"So you managed to convince us you were dead twice," Felix said. </p><p>"Yeah, pretty much," she said with a shrug.</p><p>Felix put his head in his hands. "I have so many questions."</p><p>"Well, considering the fact that I have all the time in the god damn world right now, hit me."</p><p>He hesitated for a moment. "Glenn. Did you see him?" Felix's voice had a rare tremor of emotion in it.</p><p>Savina looked away. "I tried to heal him. I was too late, but... I tried. He was next to Lambert; he gave his life in vain. I tried to heal Lambert too, I really did, but his head was halfway off his body. There was no way I could have helped either of them. I even dragged Glenn off the battlefield, back to the forest where my stuff was, but... he had too many wounds and had inhaled too much smoke by the time I got to him. I left soon after; his pulse was so close to gone I couldn't do anything." <em>I'm sorry, Felix.</em></p><p>"I see," he murmured, looking away. "It isn't your fault, Savina. I hope you know that."</p><p>
  <em>It is. You don't know the truth, Felix. It absolutely is my fault; if I had just been a little more decisive, if I was ready to face the consequences of killing him, all of this could have been stopped. Every single death that day could have been prevented. Sure, I'd be dead, but Dimitri would still be happy. Glenn would be happily married to Ingrid. The kingdom wouldn't be broken, on the brink of collapsing every day. You guys wouldn't even know; you had assumed me dead anyway.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You all would be so much happier.</em>
</p><p>"I know," she said instead. Her voice was quiet; it was clear, even to her, that she didn't believe it.</p><p>"I mean it, Savina," he said, looking her in the eye. "You were what - 15? 16? There is no way you could have prevented their deaths without possibly giving up your own life. Even then, there's no guarantee that they would have made it out alive."</p><p>Savina felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes; that was a feeling she hadn't had in a long time. They were emotion-induced, not caused by physical pain. "You don't understand, Felix. I could have stopped it if I wasn't such a fucking coward."</p><p>"I don't see how," he said.</p><p>"You wouldn't understand," she said, sighing and wiping her eyes. "It doesn't matter, though, does it? They've been dead for four years; no amount of regret or sorrow is going to bring them back now."</p><p>"True," her friend said with a nod. He hesitated for a moment, causing Savina to raise her eyebrow, before wrapping her in a tight hug. "The marriage may never have been seen through, but you're still my older sister. Nothing will change that."</p><p>
  <em>Really? Do I deserve that? I'm a beast, a monster; I have more blood on my hands than in my veins. You shouldn't have to resort to me for someone to look up to; you shouldn't have to resort to a monster. I'm sorry I couldn't save your brother, Felix. If I could have traded his life for my own, I would have. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It would be better that way.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"What are you doing?"</p><p>Savina stopped at the accusatory tone of the man behind her, turning around and looking at Claude, who had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "Helping with the investigation."</p><p>"You were released from the infirmary <em>yesterday</em>," he said. </p><p>"And Manuela said I was permitted to roam freely, as long as I stayed away from the training grounds for the next week," Savina stated.</p><p>"I don't think that includes looking for secret passages," Claude said with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>Savina sighed a bit, rolling her eyes at her companion. "Listen, Claude, I'm helping with this mission whether you like it or not. I've fought with hastily-healed bones before; I spent four years alone as a merc, after all."</p><p>"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean you should," Claude retorted. "Let us take care of this, Savi. Rest up a bit, you need it."</p><p>"Flayn could be dying," Savina replied, sending a borderline glare her friend's way. "I'm not abandoning her, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. I'm an older sibling; it comes naturally."</p><p>"Do you <em>want</em> me to knock you out?" Claude asked with his eyebrows raised. </p><p>"Good luck with that," Savina chuckled. "I was hit by the hilt of a sword in the back of the head without a helmet or any adrenaline by a thief with strength comparable to Raphaels' and didn't pass out."</p><p>"You're insane," Claude said, eyes wide.</p><p>"Nah, not insane. Indestructible, sure, but I still have most of my sanity," Savina answered with a shrug. Something flickered in her field of vision. <em>I said mostly.</em></p><p>Claude sighed, his eyes slightly softening as he took in her appearance. She knew she didn't look the best, with her hair in a messy half-ponytail and her leg still covered in bandages, but she knew that wasn't what he was looking at. </p><p>"You can't hide your fatigue from me, y'know."</p><p>She sighed, slumping forward slightly. She looked around the library, the dusty shelves and tomes, the tables she spent so much time at with Claude and Ashe. Savina laughed, but there was a bitter edge to it. "I wish I could. Then you wouldn't have to worry about me."</p><p>"I wouldn't say I have to worry about you, Savina," Claude said, concern beginning to cloud his chocolate-brown eyes. "But I want to."</p><p>"You shouldn't," Savina replied with a shrug. </p><p>"I'm your friend; that's what friends do," Claude shot back. "You're gonna have to accept that."</p><p>"Or what?" Savina asked.</p><p>"Nothing," Claude said with a shrug. "I'm just gonna keep doing it."</p><p>"You're annoying," Savina groaned in response, flopping onto the table in front of her.</p><p>"And you're irresponsible," Claude said with a chuckle. "I don't see the problem here."</p><p>"First of all," Savina retorted indignantly, "I am <em>not</em> irresponsible. Second of all, the problem is that Flayn is missing and instead of searching for her or letting me search for her, you're standing here yapping at me."</p><p>"I came here for a reason other than to nag," Claude said, a smirk overtaking his lips as he grabbed a vial full of some sort of liquid. "It's an elixir."</p><p>"How the hell did you come across that?" Savina asked, her eyes widening to the size of plates.</p><p>"I didn't," Claude said. "I made it as soon as you guys came back."</p><p>"Since when can you make elixirs?" Savina questioned, staring in awe at the medicinal vial.</p><p>"Since I was little, actually. My mom's a physician, so she taught me when I was about five or six," Claude replied with a shrug. "Here, take it. You'll be good as new once you do."</p><p>"You sure about that? No side effects or anything?" Savina inquired warily. </p><p>"It's too small a dose to get addicted, and I can show you the ingredients I used if you're that suspicious. I'm not gonna hurt someone I actually enjoy hanging out with, I swear," Claude replied honestly.</p><p>Savina nodded, taking the vial before uncorking and downing it. "Just had to make sure. Thanks."</p><p>Claude chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "Still suspicious of me, huh?"</p><p>"Well, I've bared pretty much my entire being to you at this point and I still have yet to learn practically anything meaningful about you," Savina pointed out.</p><p>Claude heaved a heavy sigh before answering, "I suppose I owe you at least a little bit, huh." He sat down, gesturing for Savina to do the same before starting to talk. "I'm not going to tell you everything right now. I'm just going to skim the surface. There's a lot about me to unpack, and I want you to know that I won't blame you for judging most of it. </p><p>"I'm sure you're aware that I was only recently confirmed as the heir to the Reigan house. A lot of people wonder about legitimacy and how it came to be. My mother ran away; she was the only daughter of Duke Reigan - my grandfather. She won't return, so that lands me as the heir to the title of Sovereign Duke."</p><p>Savina chuckled a bit, shaking her head. "Running from the nobility is the most freeing thing. It's not that living as a noble is bad, per se, but there are so many restrictions. So many things you can't do, because you don't want to land yourself any enemies. Leaving it all behind is so very freeing."</p><p>Claude chuckled a bit, nodding. "That's what my mother always told me. It's not like I was raised away from the nobility, however; it's hard not to be raised around it when practically the entire world runs similarly."</p><p>"True," Savina said. "I didn't venture out of Fodlan all that much, but I've been to Dagda, Brigid, Sreng, Almyra, and I think I even went to Morfis for something a few years ago."</p><p>"Damn, you've been all over," Claude said with a chuckle. </p><p>"<em>Maldita sea, tengo</em> [damn right I have]," Savina replied, receiving a choke from Claude. "What, did you think I hadn't figured out? I'm not stupid, Claude."</p><p>"You gave no hints!" Claude retorted. "And just... don't tell anyone. Please."</p><p>"I won't, on one condition," Savina replied. "What's your other name?"</p><p>"Khalid," Claude replied with a sigh, looking away. "Don't call me it around anyone other than Ashe, though."</p><p>"Why Ashe?" Savina asked, slightly startled.</p><p>"He stumbled upon me when I was cursing in Almyran," Claude said with a groan. "He recognized a few of the words from some of the Almyran merchants he'd run into."</p><p>"Leave it to Ashe to accidentally uncover one of the biggest secrets of the century," Savina said with a chuckle. "The heir to House Reigan, half Almy-"</p><p>"Shh!" Claude said, eyes wide.</p><p>"Nobody's around, lunch only started like 20 minutes ago. Everyone's either in classes or the dining hall," Savina reasoned. "I'm not stupid, Khalid."</p><p>"Still," Claude argued. "I don't wanna risk getting overheard."</p><p>"Fair enough," Savina said with a sigh. "We should be searching, anyway; I may be excused from classes, but I still want to look."</p><p>"You're one of the weirdest people I've come across, you know that?" Claude asked, sighing.</p><p>"I'll take that as a compliment."</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"Manuela's gone," Byleth said, worry eating at the blue-haired woman as she stared at the chalkboard in the Blue Lions classroom. "Flayn's gone, Jeritza's gone, now Manuela's gone too. Who's next?"</p><p>Savina was sitting next to her, shaking her head as she stared at her own scattered pieces of parchment. "Flayn's not on the surface of the monastery, that's for sure. I know there are tunnels and places below the surface, but I have no idea where they could be..."</p><p>"Don't stress out too much about it," Byleth said, shaking her head. "I'm the teacher, I should have some sort of idea..."</p><p>"You may be our teacher, but you're a mercenary at heart, Byleth," Savina said. "Just like me. The only difference is that I've been to Garreg Mach before however many months ago. I was here fairly often as a kid. I've already tried all of the secret passageways  I knew of, but none of them led to anywhere that would help us."</p><p>"You've already done enough, Savina. You only were cleared for duty yesterday," Byleth reminded the blonde. </p><p>"We still haven't found Flayn, though, and the fact that she might be dead is more important than a leg that was unusable two weeks ago."</p><p>"I suppose you're right, but still," Byleth sighed. "I can't keep staring at this, I'm taking a walk. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens."</p><p>"Oh, like you guys venturing to Duscur to stop Kleiman's forces from slaughtering Duscur soldiers?" Savina accused jokingly.</p><p>"We had to leave immediately," Byleth replied evenly, her face as stoic as ever. "We didn't have time to stop by the infirmary to tell an injured soldier we were heading out on a campaign."</p><p>"I know," Savina said with a light chuckle. "Don't worry about it. You go on your walk, I'm going to keep thinking."</p><p>"Alright. Don't stress yourself out too much over it." Byleth then exited the room, followed by Savina promptly banging her head on the table. </p><p>"I need to find this stupid fucking passageway," the blonde cursed, staring at the parchment that kept track of the information the class had at their disposal. She ran her fingers on the map that was beside her before she gasped, standing quickly and rushing to the knight's barracks. She ignored the questions she received as she ran (she knew she probably looked ridiculous but that <em>did not matter</em>), arriving at her destination relatively quickly for a dash across the width of the monastery. </p><p>She ignored the part of her that told her to knock as she burst into Jeritza's room, favoring the adrenaline-addled part of her brain that thought that maybe, just maybe, she would find something of use. In the end, she was glad she did.</p><p>"Professor Manuela!"</p><p>The former songstress weakly looked up at the blonde, who knelt beside her and immediately began healing the stab wound in her side. "Savina, you need to get out of here," the brunette murmured, voice barely audible over the blood and adrenaline pumping in Savina's ears. "He's protecting something in that passage."</p><p>"I've been in more dangerous situations than this," Savina replied kindly as she worked to get Manuela into a stable condition. The white magic seeped from her fingers, messily patching up the skin and muscle around the stab wound. "I'm guessing Jeritza did this?"</p><p>"It was the Death Knight," Manuela clarified, her voice getting slightly stronger as the faith magic healed her wound. </p><p>"I see," Savina said, nodding a bit before carefully lifting Manuela. "We'll take care of this, don't worry."</p><p>Savina quickly ran out of the room, trying to locate a knight that could take Manuela to the infirmary or gather her class. Instead, she ran into Byleth, Hanneman, and Dimitri, who were discussing something in the Knights Hall.</p><p>"Oh, my- is that Manuela?" Hanneman asked with a gasp. </p><p>"Yes, it is," Savina confirmed. "She's in a stable condition for now, but someone needs to get her to the infirmary and someone else needs to gather the other Blue Lions."</p><p>"I'll get her to the infirmary," Dimitri said, immediately taking the woman into his grasp. "Hanneman, can you go get the others?"</p><p>"Of course," he said with a nod, quickly rushing off as Byleth and Savina went to gather the materials they would need. Savina donned her armor, grabbing her swords. She was testing out silver, and she and Felix had both been given Levin Swords to work with. She sighed, hurrying back to Jeritza's room to meet up with everyone else.</p><p>Everyone had arrived, and they all seemed uneasy as Savina explained the situation. </p><p>"We need to get going," Byleth said after assessing who was there. "I don't know what will happen, and we don't have Dimitri with us since he's tending to Professor Manuela. If we have to split up or have an opportunity to split up, I want Ingrid to lead Bernadetta, Leonie, Marianne, and Lorenz, and everyone else to stick with me."</p><p>"Got it, Professor," Ingrid said with a nod. </p><p>"Alright, let's go," Byleth said, beckoning everyone to follow her down the passageway.</p><p>Savina sighed as she glanced around the cave as she walked with the rest of her class, wishing quietly that she had a fire affinity instead of wind. She could barely see, and while it didn't bother her too much, she knew that some of her classmates were really bothered by the darkness. </p><p>She sighed as they made their way into a dimly-lit cavern, letting her eyes adjust before she heard others seeing what she saw. </p><p>"What is this place?" Annette asked, before letting out a startled sound. "I see someone! I think they're unconscious..."</p><p>"Is it Flayn?" Byleth asked as she made her way to the front.</p><p>"I think so," Ingrid replied from atop her (very unhappy) pegasus.</p><p>Savina's attention wasn't on the green-haired girl they were supposed to rescue, however. Her eyes were on the man atop a horse, his scythe glowing in the dull light the torches provided.</p><p>"Death Knight," she said firmly. "What business do you have with Flayn?"</p><p>"That is none of your concern," he replied, his strange voice ringing out and echoing in the dark cavern. </p><p>"Actually, believe it or not, it is," Savina replied as she rested a hand on the hilt of her blade. She began to walk forward, her hand tightening around the leather on the sword. "So, are you going to make me fight you for the information, or are you going to give it willingly, Jeritza von Hrym?"</p><p>"One of us will die, the other will live," the masked man said, seeming to avoid the question Savina asked him. "I will enjoy this dance of damnation."</p><p>"Yeah, you fucking will, because you're crazy," Savina murmured. A shadow flickered in her vision, but she ignored it. <em>I know. I'm not much better, but at least I'm not picking a fight with former coworkers. </em></p><p>"Byleth, I'm going ahead," Savina called out. "I'm just going to push through to the Death Knight. Send Marianne or Linhardt after me if you think it's necessary; if not, let them stay with you. Have Mercedes tend to Flayn and the other girl that was next to her."</p><p>Byleth thought it over for a moment before nodding and calling Linhardt over. She explained his orders to him, and the two set off quickly. </p><p>Savina sighed a bit as she observed an archer who thought they were hiding well, rushing forward. "Your soul is mine!" she yelled out, decapitating the male who was aiming at one of the others. She didn't bother checking the body for anything, just pressing forward and trusting Linhardt to get what they needed.</p><p>"Savina, wait, I've got the keys for the gates up ahead," Linhardt called, turning to see a swordsman approaching. He sighed, readying an attack. "Let's get this over with."</p><p>Savina was pushed slightly forward by the force of the Cutting Gale the healer cast, but he pushed past her and unlocked the gates. "Alright, c'mon. We gotta go quickly."</p><p>Linhardt nodded, and the two of them continued to push forward. The green-haired mage unlocked the other gate as Savina attacked the armored knight beside her, and the two of them ran into the cavern.</p><p>Savina heard the shouts of her classmates all around her, but she blocked out the yells of determination, indignation, and pain. She focused her attention on her goal, cutting down anyone who stood directly in her path and ignoring everyone else. She trusted Linhardt to heal her if her wounds got too bad, and she'd retreat if worst came to worst. </p><p>Savina ignored the fact that there was probably a key on one of the corpses she left in her wake, instead opting to kick down the door that separated her from the Death Knight. She readied her blade, staring down the knight she had encountered so many times.</p><p>"Emile Bartels," she said as she approached the masked man. "Jeritza von Hrym. The Death Knight. So many names to call the same monster."</p><p>"Says the woman who killed my men without so much as a blink," he drawled in response. "I have no need of you."</p><p>"Your luck just ran out!" she yelled in response, lashing out at the strange knight. She let her crest flow through her body and weaken his armor as she slashed from his shoulder to his hip, wounding him enough to severely unbalance him.</p><p>"Kill them," he ordered, his voice weak yet booming. </p><p>Savina's attention was pulled away, however, as she spotted a knight in red-and-white armor and a mask. "Halt. You're having a bit too much fun."</p><p>Why did that remind her of someone? And, more importantly, who was it?</p><p>"You are getting in the way of my game," the Death Knight growled.</p><p>"Hmph. You'll have more opportunities to play soon," the masked knight huffed. </p><p>"Understood. I will go," the black-clad knight replied after a moment. He teleported away, leaving just Linhardt, Savina, and the masked somebody in the room. Savina figured there were a few more people in the hallway behind her, but her attention was focused on the strange knight in front of her.</p><p>"We will cross paths again. I am the Flame Emperor; it is I who will reforge the world." Savina's eyes narrowed as they teleported away, unable to shake the feeling that she recognized them.</p><p>"Flame Emperor and the Death Knight? Both seem very dangerous," she heard Mercedes say, worry evident in her voice. Savina turned around but was unable to say anything as Ingrid cut in.</p><p>"Where'd they go?" she asked, brows furrowed. "Actually, it doesn't matter. We should get these two up."</p><p>"Bring them up," Dedue replied, already picking Flayn up. Savina walked over to the other girl, a redhead, and frowned slightly. There was something off about the girl, and it couldn't just be explained by the fact that she had been kidnapped for an undeterminable amount of time.</p><p>All of this was part of a bigger plot. But what could it be?</p><p> </p><p>╚»★«╝</p><p> </p><p>"I cannot thank you enough for your quick thinking, Savina," Seteth said to the blonde. "I don't know what would have happened if she was down there any longer than she was."</p><p>"I'm not sure either, but it couldn't have been good if Jeritza stabbed Professor Manuela over it," Savina responded evenly, though she let a bit of worry seep into her voice. "But the three of them are making a speedy recovery, so I'm not too worried about them. I'm sure you were informed about the Death Knight's involvement and the appearance of this Flame Emperor?"</p><p>"I was, yes. Do you know anything about either of them?" the green-haired male asked.</p><p>"I've fought the Death Knight a few times throughout the years. His real name is either Jeritza von Hrym or Emile von Bartels; one of them is an alias. He's the half-brother of Mercedes von Martritz and has the Minor Crest of Lamine. I'm not sure of anything beyond that," she reported.</p><p>"That's still a lot to go off of," Seteth said with a nod and a sigh. "You said you've fought him before?"</p><p>"A few times, yes," Savina confirmed. "He was a wandering assassin for a few years, as I was a wandering mercenary. We had various encounters; the last one before he showed up at the Holy Mausoleum almost ended up with him losing a leg and me losing my life."</p><p>"I see. If he was nearly able to kill you, he's a true threat," Seteth murmured.</p><p>"The other students can't fight him, unless they know Dark Spikes T," Savina stated. "There's no way around it; someone enchanted his scythe so he can counterattack from long ranges, so unless you can defeat him in one shot you're screwed."</p><p>"Good to know," Seteth said, grabbing a quill and some parchment to write down the information Savina was giving him. "Is there anything else we should be aware of?"</p><p>"Keep an eye on the red-haired girl. I've got a bad feeling about her; it's possible I'm just uneasy today, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," the blonde said.</p><p>"Monica?" Seteth asked, looking at the woman with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>"I believe that's her name, yes," she said with a nod. "I know that she was enrolled here last year, but there could always be imposters. We don't yet know the full nature of black magic; anything could happen, in theory."</p><p>"I'll keep that in mind. I trust your instincts, Savina," Seteth stated, looking at her. "Your instincts have always been more reliable than most."</p><p>"Thank you, Seteth. Do you need anything else?" Savina asked.</p><p>"I don't believe so, but if you remember anything else or find out any more information please let me know. You may go now; it's starting to get late, and I have some business to attend to with Rhea and Professor Byleth. Thank you for the information you were able to provide, and thank you for playing such an active part in the rescue of Flayn."</p><p>"Of course," Savina replied, her lips quirking up as she gave a small bow and exited the room.</p><p>"So what was that all about?"</p><p>Savina whipped around, accidentally hitting Claude in the process. "Shit- sorry, Khalid. Instinct."</p><p>"You've got damn good reflexes, I'll tell ya that," the brunette groaned. "Now answer my question."</p><p>"Seteth was just asking for information regarding the mission," Savina said with a shrug.</p><p>"What did you know?" Claude asked, eyebrows raising. </p><p>"I know a decent bit about the Death Knight," Savina said with a shrug. "I've fought him a few times, so I've gotten information from a combination of that and my own digging."</p><p>"You fought him alone and survived?" Claude asked, eyes going wide.</p><p>"Yeah," she replied with a shrug. "I almost died once, but I was able to block just in time."</p><p>"I knew you were good with a sword, but I didn't realize you were <em>that</em> good," Claude murmured.</p><p>Savina shrugged a bit, a chuckle leaving her lips. "I mean, I've had plenty of practice, and Shattered Moon helped with that."</p><p>"Not everyone can just do that and talk about it casually afterward," Claude pointed out. "I could never talk about the times I've almost died so nonchalantly."</p><p>"Meh," Savina replied. "Anyways, I'm gonna pop down to the dining hall, see if there's any food worth having. Wanna join me?"</p><p>"I don't see why not," Claude said with a shrug. "Race ya?"</p><p>"You're on."</p>
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